


The Mad Coupling of Hope and Force

by blakefancier



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Dubious Consent, Forced Bonding, M/M, Omega Verse, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-23
Updated: 2013-01-23
Packaged: 2017-11-26 16:01:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/652001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blakefancier/pseuds/blakefancier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Howard Stark was perfectly happy being an unattached, unbonded omega. Unfortunately, Johann Schmidt and the universe had other ideas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Mad Coupling of Hope and Force

**Author's Note:**

> OMG, I hate my life. This story totally jumped me and beat me up until I wrote it. And so here it is. *waves at it* It's one of those stories with not enough sex or emotional connection or even any sort of resolution in the end. So, you know. caveat lector or whatever. 
> 
> Now I can get back to my WIPs. Love you to Pieces, Blot out the Sun, and Brothers in Arms aren't going to finish themselves. Oh, if only they would!
> 
> Also, I apologize for all the dick. Jesus, I need to write more women into my stories.

When HYDRA caught him sneaking through their base, Howard expected to be killed. Or tortured. He didn't expect to be stripped naked and given a thorough exam by the very doctor he was trying to save. 

"I was supposed to be your savior," he told Doctor Erskine with a wry smile, then grimaced when the good doctor snapped on a pair of gloves.

"I'm sorry," Erskine replied and refused to look him in the eyes. When the exam was done, a guard escorted Erskine out, leaving Howard strapped to the gurney. 

A few moments later, Schmidt sauntered into the room, a cold smile on his face. "Good evening, Mr. Stark. I hope you're not too uncomfortable?"

"Who me? No, I'm fine." He grinned up at Schmidt and fought the urge to struggle. Then Schmidt laid a gloved hand on Howard's stomach and he jerked, once, before getting himself under control.

"You're an omega." Schmidt sneered. "I'd be insulted if this didn't fit into my plans."

"What plans would those be?" Howard's skin crawled and he clenched his teeth.

"Oh, you'll see soon enough." Schmidt reached down and grabbed Howard by the chin. "You're lucky, Stark. I would have given you to my men, otherwise."

"Fuck you!" he spat, pulling out of Schmidt's grasp.

Schmidt laughed. "Oh no, Stark, fuck you." 

***** 

Howard didn’t bother struggling as his guards led him down a cold and empty corridor. He wondered what sort of tortures Schmidt had planned and he fought down the urge to make a run for it. He had to hold on; it wouldn’t take long for the others to realize he was missing. And once they realized it, they'd move quickly to find him. 

He clenched his jaw and breathed slowly through his nose when they stopped in front of a metal door. One of the guards unlocked and opened it, and the other shoved him in. He cursed and stumbled, catching himself before he fell to his knees.

Then it hit him: a thick wave of pheromones that made his knees buckle. His body responded almost immediately: his cock stiffened and his hole grew wet with arousal.

Fuck, fuck, fuck! An alpha in rut, and not only that, they were a good enough match that it triggered Howard's heat. He had the shittiest luck. He backed into a corner and crouched in a defensive position before he looked around the room, eyes lighting on a figure curled up on the dirty, cement floor.

The alpha looked up at him and he let out a gasp of surprise because it was a *boy*, a boy who was probably a few years younger than Tony. What the hell was Schmidt doing with kids? Howard fought back a whimper as the boy—the beautiful, nicely muscled, golden-haired boy—let out a soft growl. 

"You smell good," the boy said, voice thick with arousal, his nostrils flaring as he breathed in deeply. "You smell so good."

Howard's breath hitched and he pressed back against he wall. He was not going to spread his legs and offer himself up like a goddamn sacrifice. "My name is Howard, what's yours?"

"S-Steve." The boy grimaced and panted harshly. "What's going on? What's wrong with me?"

"You've gone into rut." And Howard was getting wetter by the second; slick was trickling down his thighs and he ached with emptiness.

Steve's eyes widened. "That's impossible!"

He gave a hysterical laugh. "I wish it were, kid."

"You don’t understand." Steve let out a harsh cry and rocked gently. "I'm a beta! I can't be in rut, I *can't*. What… what did they do to me?"

Howard shook his head; he wished he knew. "How old are you, Steve?"

"F-Fifteen. It hurts really bad."

"I know." He closed his eyes. Jesus Christ, the kid was three years younger than Tony. If they fucked, *when* they fucked, Howard could only hope they wouldn't bond. This was why he only slept with betas or other omegas—it was less complicated that way. He let out a gasp and opened his eyes when he felt a warm hand on his ankle.

"You smell *really* good," Steve said and he was right there in Howard's space. "You feel really good." He slid a hand up Howard's calf and Howard was *dripping* wet now.

"I know I do." He grabbed Steve's wrist and… and he meant to push it away. He really did. "I'm not on birth control, Steve."

Steve's eyes darkened and his hips rolled. "You could get pregnant," he said, the register of his voice lowering, his hand sliding up Howard's leg.

"Yes." A thrill ran though Howard's body at the thought.

"I really, *really* like that idea." Steve sounded slightly puzzled.

"Me, too." Howard swallowed hard. "But it's only… only our biology speaking, Steve. You know that, don't you?"

"Everything's weird. I tried… I tried t-touching myself. But it's different!" Steve looked up at him and Howard could see the fear in Steve's eyes. "My body's different."

Howard was going to tear Schmidt to pieces. "It's going to be okay. I promise. Steve, I promise."

Steve snatched his hand away and turned his body; he was shaking. "I… I don't want to rape you!"

"You're not. Steve, look at me. Come on, sweetheart, look at me." When Steve did. Howard touched his cheek and Steve moaned. "We're going to fight this. For as long as we can and when we can't… it won't be our fault. It won't be…" He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "We'll enjoy ourselves. Okay?"

Steve nuzzled his hand. "I've never done it before."

No, no, of course he hadn't, because Steve was *fifteen*. Howard smiled at him. "Well, I have. I'll make it good."

"I don’t like that. I don't like that other people have had you." Steve lunged at him and Howard barely managed to grab Steve's upper arms and hold him back. "You're mine. You belong to me."

Howard moaned and his hips bucked. "How long… How long have you been like this, Steve? How long have you been in rut?"

"Long time. *Hours*." Steve leaned into him. "They tried giving me others, but none of them… they didn’t smell right. Not like you. You smell… ready."

He shuddered and tightened his grip on Steve's arms. Hours? Jesus, Howard was surprised that Steve could talk, much less hold himself back.

"The boys at the group home, they say that omegas are so sweet when they spread their legs. So wet and ready, so *eager*." Steve was panting, his hands on Howard's legs again, stroking the backs of Howard's knees.

"Yeah, that's us. Just a bunch of sluts." His legs shook, his whole body shook.

"I don’t like that word," Steve whispered. "Spread your legs."

Howard groaned and slid his hands up to grip Steve's hair and pull him in for a kiss. It was awkward: Steve's kiss was too hard and too eager. Howard gentled it, murmuring softly against Steve's mouth, rubbing his scalp in small circles. Steve moaned and writhed against him, reaching down to play with Howard's cock. It was nice, it was, but it wasn't what Howard wanted. He grabbed Steve's wrist, making the boy growl. "Easy, easy," he panted. "That's…. let me show you. Steve, let me show you." He spread his knees and brought Steve's hand to his hole. He shuddered when Steve brushed gentle fingers against it.

"You… you're dripping. For me?"

"All for you." He fought the urge to push down onto Steve's questing fingers and ride them until he came. God, he wanted… he wanted so badly. "You make me so wet, sweetheart. You make me so ready. Put your fingers in me. Go on, feel how hot I am. Go—" He let out a cry as Steve shoved two fingers inside of him and arched into the touch. "Oh god, oh god, *please*." He whined softly.

Steve snarled and before Howard knew it, he was on his back, legs spread wide, with Steve trying to fuck his way into Howard's hole and not quite managing it. It might have been funny if it weren't so damn tragic. 

Howard wrapped his legs around Steve's waist and shifted just as Steve thrust forward. He let out a sharp cry as Steve slid right in: long, thick, and perfect. 

Steve gasped, body stilling for one brief moment, before he leapt into action and fucked Howard like a goddamn jackhammer. 

Howard was not complaining. Each thrust sent an electric bolt of pleasure through him and he did his best to let Steve know he was enjoying himself thoroughly. "Fuck, Steve! Fuck! That's it, sweetheart. Jesus, you're such a good boy. You're such a good, *good* boy." 

Steve whined softly and gave Howard a kiss: all tongue and teeth and sloppy slide of mouth. Then he buried his face in Howard's neck and bit hard enough to hurt, hard enough to leave a mark.

The possessiveness was more than Howard could stand; he wailed, arching up into Steve, an orgasm slamming though his body. As he tightened around Steve's cock, he could feel Steve's knot start to swell and suddenly he wanted that. He wanted that more than anything else in the world. "Knot me," he said, "Come on, come on, knot me, sweetheart."

Steve made a confused sound as his knot locked them together and tried pulling out.

"Hey, hey, where are you going?" Howard let out a tired laugh and held Steve tightly.

"Feels weird," Steve slurred, but stopped trying to put out. Instead, he gently rocked his hips, the knot pulling at the rim of Howard's hole with each pull.

"Feels good?" Howard stroked Steve's back and Steve nodded. "You're coming inside me. Filling me up."

"H-How long?" Steve shuddered and buried his face against Howard's chest.

"About a half hour." 

"Don't wanna." Steve shook his head.

"I know, Steve, I know." He kissed Steve's hair and murmured words of encouragement. "You're doing so well. You're doing wonderfully." 

"I don't like it. This isn't right. I shouldn't—" He pressed his mouth to Howard's skin and shuddered.

*****

Steve fucked him twice more before their mutual biologies allowed them to take a break. 

Howard was sore and exhausted and he wasn't sure how he was going to survive this; his heat was mirroring the intensity of Steve's rut. And Steve's rut was *intense*. It made him wonder what had been done to Steve, what Schmidt was trying to accomplish. 

"Howard," Steve said, looking unsure and so very young, "are you okay?" 

"Just a little fucked out." He smiled and pulled Steve against him. "How are you?"

Steve clutched him tightly. "I wanna go home."

"Yeah, so do I." He ran his fingers through Steve's hair. "Do you know why they picked you?"

Steve shook his head and buried his face against Howard's shoulder. "They just snatched me up off the street when I was walking home from school. I'm nobody special."

"What about your parents?" There had to be *something* about this kid that drew Schmidt to him.

"My dad died before I was born. My mom… she died when I was ten; cancer. I've been living in foster care and group homes since then." Steve lifted his head, a look of horror on his face. "I won't be able to go back there now that I'm an alpha, will I? They'll stick me in one of those… those *schools* until I'm eighteen."

Howard winced and stroked his hands down Steve's sides—he wouldn't send a rabid dog to one of those places. "That's not going to happen to you. Steve, look at me, I'm not going to let that happen. Okay?"

"You promise?"

"I promise," he said softly.

Steve searched Howard's face for a moment, then nodded. "Okay." He settled back, a hand on Howard's stomach, and sighed. "My mom and dad were an alpha/omega pairing. They were… they were traditional."

"Traditional? In this day and age?" He laid his hand on Steve's.

"My mom said she was proud to wear my dad's collar, that she was happiest when she served him."

Howard refused to name the unhappy emotion that twisted in his gut. "That was never an option for me." 

"You're the owner of a weapons company; I didn't think it would be."

"You know who I am," he said, surprised.

Steve smiled up at him. "I'm fifteen, not stupid." 

He laughed, then gasped when Steve stroked his left nipple.

"I bet you'd look pretty in a collar. A black one, with fur lining." 

Howard grew wet at Steve's words; he told himself it was because of his heat.

***** 

Howard was empty. He was so, *so* empty that it hurt. He lowered his upper body to the ground and lifted his ass, and whimpered. He was hollow and dripping and he needed to be bred. He needed Steve's cock. He needed Steve's knot. 

"Please," he whined, arching his back to entice Steve. "I need you. I need you, I need you, I need you. God, please fill me up. Please fuck me!"

Steve growled and gripped Howard's hips and slammed in. 

***** 

"You're mine," Steve said, sucking and biting at Howard's neck and shoulders, as Howard sprawled on his lap, riding his cock. "You belong to me."

"Yes." Howard ground down on Steve's cock and mewled in pleasure as his body flushed at the rightness of Steve's words. This was where he belonged; this was who he belonged with.

***** 

Steve moved in and out of Howard in erratic little jabs, his breath coming in exhausted sobs. They were reaching the end of their mutual need and Howard was so very grateful. They had been at this for days and he was beyond exhaustion. All he wanted to do was close his eyes and sleep for a week. 

"I can't. Howard, I can't." Steve collapsed against him, body trembling.

"Then don't," he said, his voice slurring. "Close your eyes. Just… sleep." 

***** 

"Howard. Jesus Christ, Howard, wake up," a familiar voice said.

Howard considered ignoring the command, but decided it was worth the effort to obey. He opened his eyes slowly. "Nick? Schmidt?"

"Gone." Nick put a hand on Howard's shoulder and squeezed gently. "You're safe now."

***** 

The next time Howard woke up, it was to the beeping of a heart monitor. Nick sat at his bedside, looking grave, and Howard wondered if someone had died. He looked at the IV in his arm and made a perplexed sound.

"You're dehydrated and your blood sugar is low," Nick said and got to his feet. He poured a cup of water and held out two pills. "Plan B."

Howard took them, his hand shaking, popped them into his mouth, and drained the cup of water. "Where's Steve?"

"He bounced back more quickly than you did—the benefits of youth—so we put him in one of the unused dorm rooms." 

"I want to see him."

"He's refusing to allow us to run any tests on him until you've given the okay." Nick settled back into the chair and crossed his arms. "Did you bond with him?"

He sighed and rubbed his face. "Yeah."

"Well, fuck."

"You can say that again." He grabbed the remote for the bed and raised the head. Oh, his back did not enjoy that one bit. 

"It's a new bond. If you stay away from him—"

"I can't do that," he said.

Nick gave him an exasperated look. "He's not your responsibility." 

"Then whose responsibility is he, Nick? He doesn’t have anyone else but me." Howard looked away. "I promised him."

"You break promises all the time," Nick said. "Why is this different?"

"I don't know. It just is." Howard sighed. "Is he all right?" 

"Better than all right." Nick picked up a file off the bedside table and handed it to him. "We haven’t been able to do a lot of tests—the kid's stubborn—but we took a look at his medical files. Before Schmidt got a hold of him, the kid had a list of aliments a mile long: high blood pressure, asthma, pre-diabetes, heart murmur… All gone. He also gained twenty-five pounds of muscle and three inches—which isn't that abnormal in a boy his age. But from what he's told us, it was an almost instantaneous process."

"Jesus Christ." Howard flipped through the file and he could help but stare at the picture of Steve, looking tiny and frail. "Are you trying to tell me that Erskine succeeded? That Steve's the perfect alpha? The perfect soldier?"

"I'm only telling you what I know." Nick crossed his arms over his chest. 

"Bullshit." Howard tossed the file on the bed. "He's a kid. He should be at school or playing football with his friends." 

"He doesn't have that luxury anymore and you know it. Eventually, Schmidt is gonna want his guinea pig back."

"And you want me to abandon him, with that possibility hanging over him?"

Nick shrugged. "You've done it before."

The worst part of it was that Howard couldn't dispute that fact. 

***** 

A few days after Howard's talk with Nick, he got a visit.

Steve hesitantly walked into the room, looking every bit his fifteen years in a pair of baggy jeans and a tight t-shirt that showed off his muscles. In his hands, he held a rose, which he kept fiddling with—a few petals fell to the ground. 

"Is that for me?" Howard asked, feeling a warmth in the pit of his stomach. He told himself it was just the bond; it didn’t help.

"Yeah." Steve walked over and held it out. "One of the agents was nice enough to find it for me."

"Thank you." Howard took it and set it on the bedside table. "Are they treating you all right?" He looked tired.

Steve nodded. "Except they keep trying to jab me with stuff."

He laughed and gestured for Steve to sit on the bed. "Our science division can be a bit overzealous."

"Our?" Steve perched on the bed and fidgeted. 

"I helped found SHIELD." Howard placed a hand on Steve's thigh and squeezed. 

"When you weren’t running a multi-billion dollar business?" Steve said, incredulously.

He grinned. "We'll, I don't sleep much. Speaking of which, you look exhausted. Bed not comfortable enough?"

Steve shrugged and looked away. "I keep having nightmares." 

Howard hummed softly, then grabbed Steve by the t-shirt and tugged. "Take a nap with me."

"W-What?" Steve blushed; it was adorable.

"Nap. Come on, into bed." He tugged harder and after a moment, Steve kicked off his shoes and stretched out next to him. "Comfortable?"

"I guess." Steve tentatively slipped an arm around Howard's waist and when he didn’t protest, relaxed. "I didn't think you'd want to see me."

"Why wouldn’t I want to see you?" Howard sighed and stroked Steve's arm.

"You were forced into heat because of me," Steve said softly.

"No, I was forced into heat because Schmidt locked us both in a room together. Neither of us wanted that to happen, but it did." He took a deep breath. "Now we have to deal with the consequences."

"Our bond." Steve looked up at him. "Does it bother you that I'm a kid?"

Howard opened his mouth to lie, but when push came to shove, he found he couldn't. "I'd prefer it if you were older, but time will take care of that. Does it bother you that I'm old enough to be your dad?"

The tips of Steve's ears turned red. "No. I don’t mind."

"Good." Howard relaxed a bit.

"This is weird. I didn’t even know you a week ago and now… I like touching you. I want… I want to do things to you." Steve swallowed hard and his face turned a brighter red.

He cleared his throat. "Yeah, well, I know we had three days of marathon sex, but I think we should take things slow, don't you?"

Steve nodded. "I don't know anything about alpha/omega relationships. Except what my mom told me, I mean." He took a deep breath and twisted his fingers in the fabric of Howard's shirt. "Am I going to live with you?" 

"I… I don't know." 

"Right. It's complicated," Steve said, disappointment coloring his voice.

"It is. But you don't have to worry. I promised that you wouldn’t go to one of those alpha boarding schools, and you won't." He fought the sudden urge to apologize. 

Steve gave him a tight-lipped smile. "I get it. It's okay. I… I know you got your reasons." He let out a little huff of laughter. "We're supposed to be taking a nap." He inched closer, rested his head on Howard's shoulder, and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Howard whispered. 

If Steve heard, he didn't let on.

***** 

"I brought you something," Steve said as he sat on the bed next to Howard and watched him tie his shoes. They'd spent the last few weeks in each other's pockets thanks to all the tests by the Medical and Science Divisions.

"Did you?" Howard spared him a quick glance. "What is it?"

"Just a little something to remind you that I'm here, waiting for you." Steve shrugged and Howard stifled a sigh.

"Steve, Schmidt is still out there. The safest place for you is here at SHIELD."

"What about you? Schmidt could be waiting to snatch you up, too!" Steve glared at him. 

"I'm a trained SHIELD agent and I have bodyguards. Which you already know, because we discussed this." He nudged Steve with his shoulder. "Now are you going to give me my present or have you changed your mind?"

Steve rolled his eyes. "Close your eyes and hold out your arm."

Howard gave Steve a wary look, but after a moment, did what he was told. He felt Steve tie something around his wrist.

"Okay, open your eyes." 

When he did, he saw that Steve had given him a braided leather bracelet. He touched it and gave Steve a puzzled look. "Thank you."

Steve ran his fingers over the bracelet, then touched Howard's face. "You'd look better in a collar, but this'll have to do."

Howard's whole body flushed hot with arousal and he swallowed hard. Jesus, what this kid was doing to him. He leaned over and gave Steve a kiss.

Steve hummed softly and pulled away. "You're still mine, you know. I can feel it in my gut. Can you feel it, too?" 

"Yeah, yeah, I can feel it." And it was driving him crazy.

"Sometimes I just wanna shove you down and mark you all over. The websites and books say that's normal; they say that you'll love it."

He would. God, he would. "Why don't you, then?"

"It scares me. I don't even really know you."

Steve was still so damn young; Howard ached for him and what he was going through. "You still put the bracelet on me." 

"I don't want you to forget I'm here. "

"I won't." Howard took Steve's hand and laced their fingers together. "Not for a moment."

***** 

When Howard limped into his office—because getting fucked for three days straight, then being forced to run through every physical exam known to humans, put a strain on… everything—Obadiah was sitting behind his desk, smirking. He didn't sigh or roll his eyes.

"How was Tahiti?" Obi asked.

"It was Argentina. Now get the fuck out of my chair." He set down his briefcase and took out the files he'd need for the day. Jesus, it was going to take him several months to catch up.

"Argentina doesn't allow cell phones?" Obi slowly got to his feet and cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes, I know, I should have called you before I left. I apologize for making you worry. Unfortunately, I was a little busy cleaning up Eddie's mess." 

Obi smirked, and as he passed, he reached over to tap at a spot on Howard's neck. "Is that what it was? Looks like it was a pleasant mess."

Shit, some of the makeup must have rubbed off. He shrugged and carefully settled into his chair. "No reason I couldn't enjoy what the country had to offer. I was there for three weeks, after all. Now what did I miss?" 

"Did you call Tony?" Obi flopped into one of the guest chairs.

Howard rubbed the bridge of his nose; he could feel a tension headache coming on. "Why? Does he need another ten thousand for booze and hookers?"

"That's not fair, Howard. He's doing excellent work at in our California office. You should bring him home."

"And you should mind your own business." God, he needed a drink. 

"He's your son. Maria wouldn't like this. She wouldn't—"

"No!" Howard slapped his hands against his desk. "You don't get to use Maria's name. You don't get to tell me what she would or wouldn't like. Mind your own damn business." He took a deep breath and let it out. "Now tell me what I missed." 

***** 

Howard lasted two miserable days before he was back at SHIELD, walking purposefully through the base towards Steve's room. He told himself it was the bond's fault: it was particularly intolerant of distance. And he had found out just how intolerant: he hadn't been able to eat or sleep or think about anything but the way he ached for Steve. 

It was ridiculous. It was humiliating. It made him wonder if this was what Schmidt wanted. If this was what the bastard was after. 

As his stood in front of Steve's door, his heart pounded in his chest and the ache intensified. God, what if Steve hadn't felt the same? He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, it opened and Steve blinked up at him in surprise.

"Hi," he said, his voice hoarse.

"You're here." Steve grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him into the room. Then he crowded Howard up against the wall and kissed him. 

He moaned and leaned into the kiss, pulling Steve closer as the boy moved from his mouth to his neck. 

Steve sucked and bit what he could, murmuring incoherently. He slid a knee between Howard's thighs and rocked his hips.

Howard threw his head back and arched against Steve, gasping and whimpering. 

"I missed you," Steve whispered into Howard's ear. He untucked Howard's shirt and slid his hands up to scratch and pull at Howard's nipples. "You can't leave me. You're mine, Howard, and you can't leave me here. I need to be with you."

He shuddered and whined. "Steve, please. God, *please*."

Steve growled, then pushed himself off Howard and staggered away. He put his hands on his knees and panted harshly.

Howard closed his eyes and breathed slowly through his nose. "Okay, okay, that was… that was particularly intense." He was so aroused, he'd just soaked through his trousers. He opened his eyes and slowly approached Steve. He touched the boy's arm. He yelped in surprise when he was thrown onto the bed and pinned down.

Steve buried his face against Howard's throat. "I'm sorry," he said brokenly. "I don't know what's wrong with me. Maybe… maybe I belong in one of those schools."

"No! No, you don't." He wiggled against Steve and found that didn't help at all. But for some reason, he didn’t want to stop. "Your body was drastically changed, Steve. You need to give yourself time to get used to it all."

"It's affecting you, too." Steve licked his throat.

Oh, that was so good. "Well, I'm a grown up, I can deal with it." 

Steve tensed, then sobbed quietly. "I keep dreaming that I got you pregnant and everyone knew that you were mine."

Those words shouldn't thrill him, but they did. "Get off. Come on, off!" When Steve flopped onto his back, Howard sighed. "You know that's not going to happen."

"Yeah." Steve sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve. Then he reached over and grabbed Howard's wrist. "You're still wearing the bracelet."

For some reason he flushed. "Well, yeah. Of course I am." 

Steve smiled and rubbed the leather. "I think spending more time together will help." He slipped his fingers under the bracelet and rubbed Howard's wrist. "Don't you?"

His pulse sped up at Steve's touch and he cleared his throat. "I can visit you more often. I'll stop by every day before and after work." He gently pulled arm away and ran his fingers through his hair. "And… And you can stay at my place over this weekend. Just the weekend," he said, when Steve made a happy sound.

"I know," Steve said, rolling over to nuzzle Howard's neck. "I'm glad. It's so boring here."

***** 

It felt strange to have Steve in his home, gazing around the living room with more than a little awe. He looked young and vulnerable.

Howard knew he should be ashamed of himself, but all he could feel in this moment was happy. He reached out and gripped Steve's shoulder. "Welcome to my home."

Steve grinned up at him. "It's so big! I feel like I'm in a museum."

He laughed and pulled Steve close for a quick hug. "You'll get used to it." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jarvis enter the room. "Ah, Steve, I'd like you to meet Jarvis. You need anything, and I mean anything, just ask him. He'll make sure you're taken care of."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Jarvis." Steve reached over and shook his hand. "Don’t worry, I won't be any trouble."

"I'm sure you won't, young sir." Jarvis smiled gently at Steve, then turned to Howard. "Shall I make up the blue room, sir?"

"That won't be necessary. You can take Steve's bag up to my room."

Jarvis's mouth tightened almost imperceptibly and he said, coldly, "Yes, sir." He picked up Steve's bag and primly left the room.

"Is he mad because of me?" Steve asked.

"No." Howard sighed. "He's mad because of me." He shook his head. "Come on, let me give you a tour."

"Can we tour the kitchen first?" Steve bit his lip. "I'm a little hungry."

He laughed and pushed Steve towards the kitchen. "We can do that."

***** 

They had to wait for Jarvis to come back downstairs and make them some sandwiches because Howard didn’t know where anything was. They sat awkwardly at the dinner table and Howard knew he shouldn't be surprised. After all, what could he possibly he have in common with a fifteen year old from Brooklyn. 

"So," Steve said, taking a drink of his root beer. "How was work?"

"Fine. I'm still trying to catch up." He stared down at his sandwich. "How's the testing going?"

"Good." There was a long silence, then Steve said, "Director Fury wants me to talk to a shrink." 

"That might be a good idea."

"Are you gonna talk to a shrink?"

Howard laughed. "No." 

"Well, neither am I." Steve said it with such finality, that Howard had to look at him. "So, do you like sports?"

"Not really." He wasn't sure if he should push the shrink issue.

"What about video games? Or music?" Steve took a bite of his sandwich and chewed slowly.

"I think Tony has a Wii hooked up to the TV in the den."

"Really?" Steve grinned. "Do you think he'd mind if I played it?"

"I don’t see why he would." He took a deep breath. "It'll give me a chance to get some work done."

"Right." Steve's enthusiasm waned for a moment, then smiled. "That way we can spend more time together tomorrow."

"Exactly." He didn't know what they'd do together, but he was a genius, he'd figure something out.

***** 

Howard felt like a fucking virgin on his wedding night. There he was, staring up at the ceiling, his nerves jangling, as he waited for Steve to emerge from the bathroom. Howard wore black silk pajamas, the ones Maria bought the Christmas before she died. They felt cool on his heated skin. 

He wondered if Steve expected them to fuck. He wasn’t sure he didn't want to. Of course, he wasn't sure he did either. He played with the bracelet around his wrist and took a deep breath; in through his nose, out through his mouth. He'd just got a good rhythm going when the bathroom door open; his breath stuttered out and he swallowed hard.

Steve stood just inside the bedroom, playing with the hem of his t-shirt, lashes lowered. Howard could see a slight tremble on Steve's lips. 

He leaned up on his elbows. "You don't have to sleep in here, Steve. I can have the blue room made up."

"I don't want to be any trouble." Steve shifted from one foot to the other.

"You could never be any trouble."

Steve snorted at that. "You don't know me very well."

No, he didn't. "I know where Jarvis keeps the clean linens, so we don't even have to wake him." 

"Are you sure?"

"Unless he moved them." He threw back the covers and climbed out of bed. Steve opened his mouth, but Howard gestured for him to keep quiet. "I'm sure, Steve. Now follow me. You'll like the blue room. It's not as big as mine, but the bed is very comfortable. I used to sleep there all the time when I pissed off Maria."

"Do that often?" Steve asked, amused.

"I'm not very good at holding my tongue. I'm aware that it's a problem."

Steve laughed; good, that's what Howard was hoping for. 

***** 

He hadn't tucked anyone in since Tony was a baby; it was surprisingly easy. He pulled the covers up under Steve's chin and stroked his hair. "Comfortable?" Steve nodded and after a brief hesitation, Howard kissed Steve's forehead. "Sweet dreams."

Steve closed his eyes and turned his head. Howard was almost out the door when Steve finally spoke again. He paused to hear what the boy had to say. "I used to imagine what it would be like when I finally managed to escape from Schmidt. I liked all the kids in my group home; they were nice. I thought I'd go home and everything would go back to normal. I wanna go home, Howard. I wanna go back to school. I—" Steve's voice broke. "I wanna see my friends."

Howard gripped the doorframe. "I know."

"It's not fair! You get to go back to your normal life."

"I know." He turned to look at Steve; the boy was curled into a tight ball. "I'm sorry."

"It'll get better?" Steve asked, bitterly, as if he already knew the answer.

"Sometimes. Sometimes, it does." He was sure in the hell going to try to make it better for Steve. "Try to get some rest. I'll see you in the morning. " He stepped out of the room and gently closed the door behind him. He didn't go back to bed, instead he grabbed a bottle of scotch and a glass, sat in the living room in the dark, and drank while he waited.

Howard managed to get through half the bottle before Steve crept his way downstairs, shoes in hand. There was a grim satisfaction in knowing that he was right. He might not be father of the year material, but Tony taught him enough about teenagers.

"Going somewhere?" he asked and turned on the lamp beside him.

Steve froze, then his shoulders slumped. "I just… I was gonna come back."

"You wouldn’t have made it past the front gates before SHIELD dragged you back inside." He set down his glass and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Look, I know you're upset. I understand—"

"No, you don’t!" Steve threw his shoes across the room. "You don’t understand!"

Suddenly, Howard was furious. He got to his feet, stalked over to Steve, and grabbed him by his shirt. "You think I don't get it? You are not the only fucking person in this goddamn mess!"

Steve glared up at him, chest heaving. Then before he knew it, Steve surged onto his tiptoes and kissed him hard.

Oh, fuck! Howard moaned into Steve's mouth and shuddered. He knew he should break the kiss, but every time Steve touched him he felt hot and helpless. He loved the feeling as much as he hated it. 

Steve pushed him back, slowly, until he toppled back onto the couch with a surprised cry. Then Steve straddled him, tilted his head back and continued kissing him, tongue delving into his mouth, teeth sinking into his bottom lip.

Howard gripped Steve's hips and pulled him closer. When Steve was snug against him, he slid his hands under Steve's shirt to stroke smooth, warm skin. 

"Howard," Steve moaned, and ground against his cock. "Please don’t make me go back to SHIELD. I hate it there. Let me stay with you. Please?"

He felt like his head was spinning. He knew he should say no, but he had a warm lapful of his alpha. "Steve… I…"

"I can take care of you the way you deserve. The way you want to be taken care of." Steve circled his hips and Howard arched up into the pleasure of it. "I know what you want. I know what you need." Steve wrapped a hand around Howard's throat and squeezed, not enough to choke or hinder his breathing, but enough that Howard could feel the strength behind it.

He gasped as an orgasm echoed through him, leaving him shaken and weak, his eyes damp.

"Shhh, it's okay, it's okay." Steve's voice trembled and he stroked his thumb along Howard's neck. "I'm not going back there. I'm not."

"Okay," he said and he sounded wrecked. "You don't have to go back."

"Thank you." Steve let his hand drop from Howard's neck.

"Do you… Do you want me to…" He gestured at Steve.

"No." Steve climbed off his lap and stood there, staring at him. "I'm going to go back up to my room now. Is that okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that's okay." He watched as Steve practically ran up the stairs towards the bedrooms. Then he picked up the bottle of scotch and finished off the rest of it.

***** 

Howard didn't see Steve until lunch the next day. Steve was sitting at the breakfast bar in the kitchen, eating a bowl of stew, looking bright-eyed and relaxed. Howard sat across from him and narrowed his eyes. "You're smarter than you look."

Steve gave him a puzzled look. "What are—?"

"Don't patronize me."

The puzzled look melted away and Steve shrugged. "It's not my fault that people underestimate me. Before I was kidnapped, I was sick a lot. I spent most of my time watching people."

"You manipulated me." Howard wished he could be angry about that, but he just felt tired.

"I don't have money, Howard. I don't have any family. My friends don't know where I am, they probably think I'm dead. SHIELD could lock me up and throw away the key and no one would know or care." Steve clenched his jaw. "I don't even own the clothes I'm wearing. They only thing I have, the only person that I have, is you. You're it. And I don't even know if you'll keep your promises. You're rich and powerful. You could make me disappear too."

"Steve," he said softly. "We would never—"

"Now don't you patronize me." Steve glared at him. "Don't pretend that you and SHIELD aren't as dangerous as Schmidt."

"We're the good guys." He wanted to reach out and touch Steve; he kept his hands where they were.

"I don't know that."

"Yeah, you do." To hell with it. He laid his hand on Steve's arm.

Steve looked away, but didn't pull from Howard's touch. "Good guys do bad stuff all the time."

"I know you're scared, Steve. And I know you're confused. But I am not going to let anyone hurt you."

"What if Schmidt turned me into a monster? What if—" Steve shook his head and said softly, "What if I hurt you?"

"You're not a monster. And you're not going to hurt me." He sighed. "You have to trust me, Steve. Just a little."

"Okay," Steve said, not very convincingly.

Howard sighed; fucking teenagers.

***** 

"So you're gonna play house? I don't know whether to be proud or disgusted." Nick sounded amused.

Howard leaned back in his chair and glared at the phone. "Oh, fuck you. It's not like that."

"I'm pretty sure it is." 

"We need to gain his trust and we're not going to do that by locking him away." He rubbed his face and sighed. "SHIELD scares him and after what he's been through, I don't blame him. Look, the mansion is secure, but if you're worried, send some agents over as tutors."

"I want Peggy on his security detail."

He groaned. "Nick—"

"Either she's on his detail or he's back here, Howard! I don’t tell you how to run R&D because you're the expert. Well, I'm the expert here and I'm telling you that I want Peggy on his security detail."

"Fine." He flung his hands in the air. "Perfect." 

"Good." The smug bastard was probably smiling. "She'll report to your place at six-thirty Monday morning." 

"Better make it seven-thirty." He was gonna need that extra hour.

Nick grunted and hung up.

"Son of a bitch!" Howard groaned and rubbed his eyes. Then he looked over at the door and saw Steve peeking in. The boy had probably been listening the whole time. "It's done."

A moment later, Steve slipped into the study and walked over to Howard's desk. He leaned against and smiled. "Thank you." 

"You owe me."

Steve nodded and bit his lip thoughtfully. "Do you want a blow job?"

Howard blinked up at him. "What? No!"

"Yes." Steve pushed the chair back and knelt at Howard's feet. He put his hands on Howard's thighs and looked at the very prominent erection tenting the front of his trousers. "Yes, you do."

"That doesn't mean—" He moaned and arched up as Steve rubbed him through the fabric of his trousers.

"I've licked your come off your belly. I've licked your hole, too." Steve unbuckled Howard's belt and undid his trousers. "I don’t like owing people."

"I didn't mean it like that," he choked out.

"Yeah, you did." Steve freed him and licked slowly across the head of his penis; Howard cursed and bucked his hips. "Did you know that, on average, an omega male's penis is smaller than an alpha's?"

He panted and gripped the armrests of the chair.

"Smaller than the average beta's too." 

Howard glared down at Steve who blinked up at him innocently. "You gonna tell me your theory on why or are you gonna suck my cock?"

"Suck your cock." Then Steve took the head of Howard's cock into his mouth and slurped.

"Fuck!" He gripped Steve's hair and fought the urge to shove himself down the boy's throat. "Come on! Just suck it!"

Steve hummed softly and delicately licked the tip; Howard tugged his hair in warning. The boy looked up, his eyes filled with amusement, and sucked hard.

Howard cried out and jerked his hips up; Steve choked. He wished he could say that didn't arouse him. 

It didn't deter Steve either. The boy took a deep breath through his nose and got right to work, head bobbing up and down, sucking as he went. What he couldn't fit in his mouth, he stroked with his hands. Steve wasn't very good at it, but his mouth was hot and wet, and what he lacked in experience, he made up for in enthusiasm. 

That made all the difference.

Howard moaned and writhed, his body thrumming with pleasure, aching for more. For so much more. He didn’t last long, not with Steve between his legs, looking like a debauched angel. He shuddered and gasped as he came, hands clenching in Steve's hair.

Steve continued to suck until Howard softened, then pulled off and wiped his mouth with the back of hand.

Howard watched with half-lidded eyes as Steve got to his feet, his mouth red and swollen, his cock hard in his jeans. 

"Are we even now?" Steve asked hoarsely.

He felt a surge of anger; hot and sharp. "No. Take off your shirt, then show me your dick."

Steve blushed a bright red, but after a moment's hesitation, he pulled off his shirt, unzipped his jeans, and took out his cock. 

He was just as Howard remembered: he had a broad chest with hard little nipples, a smooth, flat belly, and a thick, long cock that dripped arousal. He ached to take Steve's cock into his body, to feel the knot swell inside of him. He swallowed hard and looked away. "Get dressed and get out."

"Are we even?" Steve's voice broke on the last word.

Goddamn it. What was he doing? "Yes, we're even." He closed his eyes and didn't open them again until Steve was long gone. 

***** 

If looks could kill, the glare that Peggy gave him when he opened the door would have eviscerated him. They'd been friends once, he remembered with regret, before the accident that killed Maria. Before she had to cover up the biggest mistake of his life. 

He gave her a very thorough once over, because he knew she hated that shit, and raised an eyebrow. She was wearing a very expensive pants suit—skirts were hard to fight in—and her hair was in a loose bun. "Are you a naughty librarian?" 

Her eyes narrowed and she growled softly. "I will stab you with one of my high heels."

"Just kidding!" He raised his hands in supplication.

She took a step forward, moving into his space in order to intimidate him. He wasn't, but only because he was used to alphas trying that bull on him. "The only reason I'm doing this is because Nick asked me. I don't give a damn about your little pet alpha."

"What? No loyalty to a fellow knotter? I'm shocked!" He gasped theatrically.

She snorted and pushed past him to look around the living room. "Where is he?"

"Kitchen." Howard shut the door and led the way. "Don't underestimate him, Peggy. The kid is smarter than he lets on."

Peggy rolled her eyes. "I know how to handle teenage boys, Howard."

"Hence the naughty librarian look?" She smirked at him and fluttered her lashes; this time, he snorted. He ushered her into the kitchen. When they entered, Steve quickly rose from his chair. "Steve, I'd like you to meet Agent Peggy Carter. She's going to head up your security detail. Peggy, this is Steve Rogers."

Peggy smiled and held out her hand. "It's very nice to meet you, Steve."

Steve's cheeks grew red and he lowered his eyes; Howard had never seen Steve perform such a submissive gesture, not even around Fury. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am. Um, I mean, Agent Carter." His voice was soft and he looked up at her through his lowered lashes.

"Peggy is fine, Steve." Her smile turned sly and she ran her fingers through his hair.

Howard almost growled.

Yes, ma'am… I mean, Agent—Peggy! Peggy." He grinned sheepishly and Peggy laughed again. 

Fucking teenagers and their goddamn hormones. Howard curled his hands into fists and stepped close to Steve so that their shoulders brushed. Peggy shot him an amused glance, but Howard just glared back. "I should head off to work. You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah," Steve said; he didn't even look at Howard.

He almost leaned in and offered Steve his throat.

There was a small part of his brain that was screaming at him to drape himself against Steve and offer his throat. There was a larger part that screamed at him to get his gun and shoot Peggy between the fucking eyes. 

He did neither. Instead, he grabbed his briefcase and his thermos of coffee, and headed off to work.

Alphas made him sick.

***** 

Howard didn't get home until well after midnight. All he wanted was a stiff drink and his bed, but when he walked into the house, Peggy was waiting for him. She was sprawled on the couch, a glass of scotch in her hand.

She looked up at him, her mouth pressed into a thin line. "He's sweet."

"Not that sweet," he said, thinking about the things they had done together, and fingered the bracelet on his wrist.

"Sweeter than you deserve."

"Probably." He took the glass from her hand, drained it, and slumped onto a chair.

"I can't believe you still drink." Her voice shook with anger.

He licked his lips. "I'm an alcoholic. It's what we do."

"You killed her."

"Did you tell him that?" Howard's stomach clenched and he set down the glass. 

She sat up and glared. "I should have."

"You should have let me rot in prison, but you didn't. Do you know why? Because my guilt was inconsequential. Because her *death* was inconsequential. My freedom was more important than justice. It still is. Should I apologize for not being more broken up about it?" He held out his hands in supplication. "I'm sorry that I moved on. I'm sorry that I drink and fuck and breathe and she's –" His voice broke. He cleared his throat. "And she's six feet under."

"One of these days I'm going to kill you," Peggy said softly.

"But not today." Howard rose to his feet. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning." As he headed up, he saw movement at the top of the stairs. He cursed under his breath and ran his hands through his hair. He just wanted to sleep, but now he had to deal with Steve. He considered putting it off, but decided that wasn't the best course of action. He quietly slipped into the blue room. He made his way to the bed, turned on the reading lamp, and sat on the bed.

Steve was curled up under the covers, feigning sleep.

He sighed and gently stroked Steve's hair. "I saw you."

A moment later, Steve rolled onto his back and opened his eyes.

"Did you hear everything?" he asked, though he knew the answer. Peggy had to have known that Steve was there; she was too good of an agent not to.

"Yeah," Steve breathed. 

"And?" There was always an 'and.'

"Your car accident happened the same year my mom died. Everyone at school talked about it, because of Tony, you know? I remember thinking that me and him were the same; we both lost everything." Steve frowned at Howard. "Will you tell me what happened?"

"Why? It won't change anything. You'll still be bonded to a murderer." 

Steve just stared up at him, unafraid.

He let out a harsh breath. "There's nothing to tell. We were driving home from a holiday party and I was drunk. I was driving too fast and lost control of the car. I'm told that it rolled several times. Maria died, I didn't." 

"SHIELD covered it up?"

"I didn't ask them to." It wasn't an excuse; he didn't do excuses. "I was in a coma for three months. When I finally woke up, they had taken care of everything."

"Maybe they thought that's what you wanted." Steve sat up and crossed his legs.

"How could they know that? How could they know that's what I fucking wanted, Steve?" He shook his head. "I was in the middle of a couple of really big experiments. If I made it out of the coma intact, well, they needed me to finish them."

"You make it sound like they own you."

"I do, don't I?" He laughed bitterly. "Hoist with my own petard."

"Hoist… what?" Steve looked at him like he was crazy.

"Jesus, we need to get you some tutors." Howard rubbed his face. "Look, just get some sleep." He moved to leave, but before he could, Steve grabbed him by the arm. "What?"

"I'm sorry for your loss." And damn if Steve didn’t sound sincere.

A lump rose to Howard's throat and he whispered hoarsely, "Yeah, thanks." 

***** 

The words on the computer screen were beginning to blur. He rubbed his eyes and arched his back with a groan. He should go home. He knew he should go home, but he'd been avoiding Steve and Peggy all week and if he went home now, he'd break his streak.

The door to his office creaked open—he should get that taken care of—and Obi strolled into the room. 

Obi slipped his hands into his pockets and gave Howard a slow, considering look. "You're working too hard."

Howard rolled his eyes. "Should I thank you for stating the obvious?"

"You look like shit. Let's go for a drink."

"If that's how you open conversations with omegas, it's no wonder you're single." He turned back to his computer screen.

"I'm serious, Howard. You need a break." Obi walked over to Howard and laid a hand on the back of his neck. 

Howard glared up at him. "Don’t pull that shit with me, Obi."

"Sorry, sorry!" Obi pulled his hand away and looked genuinely contrite. "Habit."

"Uh huh." 

Obi leaned in and smiled. "Although, you know I'd treat you well if you were my omega." 

He didn't laugh in Obi's face. "If I was your omega, you'd try to have me on my knees and in a collar faster than I could say 'I do'. Then I'd have to break your face." He pushed Obi away. "I'm not submissive enough for you."

"You're not submissive at all. But you have other charms."

"Yes, but I'm not willing to hand over Stark Industries to anybody but Tony. And I'm still up in the air about Tony." Howard shut down his computer, got to his feet, and stretched. "You're buying the first two rounds."

"I always do." Obi placed a hand on the small of Howard's back and led him towards the door. 

Normally, Howard would pull away, but he was tired and more than a little touch-starved. He smirked. "I like taking advantage of your generous nature."

"Don't I know it." Obi's easy grin made the knot of tension in his belly ease. Then Obi slapped Howard on the ass.

He growled. "Son of a bitch!"

Obi just laughed. 

***** 

"You, my friend, are drunk," Obi said they stumbled into the house.

"I'm fine! I'm *perfectly* fine. Look!" He tried balancing on one foot and stumbled. He might have fallen on his face, but Obi was there to catch him. "

"You..." Howard pointed at him. "You are *not* drunk. How come you're not drunk?"

"Because I know when to stop drinking." They moved slowly into the living room. 

He rolled his eyes and snorted. "You're not going to offer to take me to rehab again, are you?"

"No," Obi said softly. "No, I'm not." He gently deposited Howard on the couch and sat next to him. "Be my omega, Howard."

"Getting me drunk isn't going to change my answer." He leaned his head on Obi's shoulder. "You know that."

"Then at least let me share your heat." Obi cupped his chin and smiled. 

Howard smiled back and pulled out of Obi's grasp. "Nope."

"Oh, come on, Howard. Please? Pretty please?"

"Sorry." He scooted away but Obi just followed and snaked his arm around Howard's waist.

"Just once?"

"He said no!" Steve's clear voice rang loudly through the room and both Howard and Obi looked over in surprise.

"Who the hell are you?" Obi asked, rising to his feet; Howard scrambled up after him, and almost fell when the room spun.

"That's Steve." Howard gripped Obi by the arm; Steve growled.

"Something you wanna tell me, Howard?"

Before Howard could say anything, Steve stepped between them, pushing Howard back. "I've got it from here." 

Obi smirked and stepped forward into Steve's personal space. "Do you now?"

Steve stared up at him, face impassive. "Yes. He's mine. Go. Away." 

"It's been a long time since I've had to slap down a puppy." Obi's hands clenched into fists and his whole body tensed. Steve's body mirrored his, eyes narrowing.

Howard sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I'm too drunk and too tired for this shit." He pushed himself between them. "Go home, Obi."

"But—"

"I'll talk to you tomorrow." He sighed when Steve hugged him from behind and nuzzled his neck. He couldn't help but lean into the touch.

"What the hell is going on, Howard?"

"Tomorrow." He gave Obi an imploring look and ignored the way Steve growled softly in his ear. For a moment, he thought Obi was going to press the issue, but then the man nodded. 

"Tomorrow, then." Obi bared his teeth at Steve, then turned and headed for the front door.

"You're a menace, you know that?"

"You're mine," Steve said and bit his throat; he gasped in pleasure. The boy smiled at that, and gently pushed him to his knees. He didn't fight it, couldn't fight it; his head spun and he felt too weak to hold himself up. Steve grabbed him by the hair, jerked his head back, and gripped his throat, slowly squeezing. "Mine."

He jerked his hands up, then let them fall helplessly back at his sides. "Steve," he rasped out, instead.

The boy blinked slowly, then slid a hand up Howard's throat, over his face, and through his hair. "You… You smell like booze. You should have some water and aspirin before you go to bed."

Howard swallowed painfully and climbed to his feet. "Yeah, okay. Yeah."

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" Steve blushed and stared down at his feet.

He almost said no, but Steve looked so lost, so alone; it made his chest ache. "If you want."

***** 

When he woke up the next morning, he didn't feel too bad, just a little queasy. He grunted and stretched, then looked over at Steve, who was sitting cross-legged at the foot of the bed, staring. Howard leaned up on his elbows and raised his eyebrows. "You're not going to snap at me and howl 'mine', are you? Because I have to tell you, Steve, last night was not your finest hour." 

Steve's face turned bright red, but the boy didn't look ashamed, only slightly embarrassed. "He shouldn't have touched you." 

Howard rolled his eyes at Steve's tone; he hated that posturing alpha bullshit. He spent his whole life fighting against alphas who thought they owned him: his mother, then his first couple of girlfriends. It was one of the reasons why he stopped dating alphas. "I get to decide who can touch me, not you." 

"I'm your alpha!" Steve stared at him intently, body vibrating with tension.

"That doesn't mean a goddamn thing," he said. "I am an adult. And look, I'm sorry that I'm not like your mom. I'm sorry that I can't be a good little omega, submissive and shy—"

"You looked pretty on your knees," Steve blurted out and Howard's face heated at the sudden memory.

"I was drunk."

Steve didn't deny it. "You could have stopped me. You could have said no…" He bit his bottom lip, suddenly, and paled. "You… You know you could have asked me to stop and I would have, right? You know that, don't you?"

He could destroy Steve with one little sentence, and part of him wanted to. "Yes, I knew."

Steve swallowed hard and rubbed the palms of his hands over the duvet. "It's not about trying to make you submissive or… or a good little alpha. It's… My mom did it because loved my dad. She did it because she wanted to show him that he was the only one for her."

"I'm not your mom."

"But you liked it," Steve said softly. "I could tell."

Howard let out a huff of air. "It fulfilled an instinctual need. But we're more than our instincts, Steve."

"Not during our mating cycles."

He shook his head in disbelief. "I stand by my statement."

"And I stand my mine: you liked it." Steve crawled over to Howard and cuddled against him. "Can I go with you to work? I'm going stir crazy."

"I don’t think that's a good idea. I still have to figure out what to say to Obi about last night." He kissed the top of Steve's head and closed his eyes. This felt good, but then, touching Steve always felt good.

"What about tomorrow?" Steve shifted and nuzzled Howard's throat.

Howard chuckled softly and lifted his chin. "Maybe."

*****

"So spill," Obi said, flopping into a chair. "Why does that little puppy think he's the boss of you?"

Howard glared at him and fought the urge to brush his fingers against the bruise Steve left on his neck, right above the collar of his shirt. "There's not much to tell. I met Steve and his mom in Argentina. They lived in the same village as Eddie. Steve went into his first rut… I didn't realize we were such a close match."

"Wait… Are you telling me you bonded?"

He was quiet for a few heartbeats and then he said, "Yes."

Obi stared at him, then burst into laughter.

"You're such an asshole!"

***** 

Howard stopped short when he got home that night and found Steve sprawled out on his bed, wearing nothing but a pair of white cotton briefs.

Steve leaned up on his elbows, legs spread enticingly, and smiled. "How was work?"

"Fine." He couldn't help himself; he let his gaze linger on Steve, taking in the smooth, unmarked skin, the broad shoulders, the curve and bulge of muscle. "It's late. You should be in bed."

"Can I sleep here?" Steve gazed up at him with innocent eyes; Howard wasn't sure how much of that was feigned. The boy was still such an enigma.

"I snore."

Steve seemed to take that as permission because he smiled and slipped under the covers. "I don't mind."

He stifled a sigh and got ready for bed, doing his best to ignore the tug of desire in his belly. He'd managed to get himself under control by the time he climbed into bed. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax, when he felt Steve press against his side.

"Is this okay?" Steve asked, pillowing his head against Howard's shoulder.

"Fine," He took a breath as his desire flared up again.

"Can I tell you something?" 

"Of course you can." Howard couldn't help himself, he turned on his side and drew Steve against his chest. Steve made a contented sound and pressed his face against Howard's neck. God, it was torture; all that lovely naked skin, his to kiss and lick and suck.

"I'm afraid," Steve said softly. 

"What are you afraid of?" He rubbed Steve's back.

"That Schmidt will find me. There were others, you know. Other betas. None of them survived." Steve shuddered and hugged Howard tightly. "He liked to show us their bodies. They… they were twisted and deformed. You could tell they died in pain. He dissected them. He said he'd dissect us, too, even if he succeeded." 

"Us." Howard swallowed hard. Steve never talked about his time with Schmidt, except for generalities. No matter how much anyone threatened or cajoled or promised, Steve had always been tight-lipped. "How many of you were there?"

"We started at ten, but… I was the last one. The rest died." Steve let out a quiet sob, then took a deep, shuddering breath. "If I tell you their names, will you let their parents know?"

"Yes, yes, of course I will." Howard frowned. "Why now? Why not tell us before?"

"I'm tired of being afraid. And I'm tired of being alone." Steve sighed against his neck. "I want to trust you. I want you to trust me."

"I want that, too." He closed his eyes in pleasure as Steve pressed kiss after kiss against his throat. Suddenly, he was wearing too many goddamn clothes. He quickly unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it open so he could feel Steve's chest against his. 

The boy sighed and ran his hands along Howard's side. "That's better. That's so much better." 

And it was. God, help him, it felt natural.

"Is SHIELD any closer to finding Schmidt?"

"I… I don't know."

Steve hummed sleepily. "I thought you said you helped found SHIELD. How come they're not telling you anything?"

"I've been busy with Stark Industries. I haven't had time to read their reports." Which wasn't true at all. He could have found the time, he just hadn't. Why hadn't he? Why was he avoiding the whole issue? "Go to sleep. I'll take a look at the reports tomorrow and let you know if they have any new information."

Steve didn't respond except to snore.

***** 

"Howard," Nick said, in surprise—almost certainly feigned. "I didn't expect to see you here today." 

"I want to know what's going on with the Schmidt situation. Why haven't we found him yet?"

"Of course." Nick put a hand on Howard's back. "Let's go into my office. Do you want a drink?"

Howard felt a frisson of irritation; what did Nick think, alcohol was going to make him easier to handle? "No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" 

"I'm sure." He sat down and crossed his arms over his chest.

Nick closed the door to his office and took out a bottle from his desk; he pouted two glasses of scotch.

Howard's hands twitched when Nick offered him one of the glasses. "No, thank you." 

"Okay." He set the glass on the desk, close to Howard. "I didn't think you were interested in knowing what was going on with our investigation." 

"Why the hell would you think that?" He studiously ignored the scotch, even as his mouth watered and his body yearned for it.

Nick sipped his scotch and hummed appreciatively. "Well, ever since you took that boy home, I haven't seen hide nor hair of you. I figured that you wanted to spend all your energy on him."

He swallowed hard. "I was busy. Anyway, I'm here now. So tell me."

"Not much to tell." Nick shrugged. "Schmidt and his operation have gone further underground. We've got feelers out, but so far no one's talking."

Howard nodded and took out a piece of paper; he handed it to Nick. "These are the names of the other children Schmidt kidnapped. According to Steve, they're dead. Did we find any bodies?"

Nick stared at the paper, brows furrowed. "No, we didn't."

That was strange; Schmidt had no problem leaving bodies behind. "Their families should be notified."

"Yeah."

"Maybe he took the bodies with him," Howard said. "Hell, maybe he incinerated them."

"Maybe." Nick looked at him. "Steve is sure they're dead?"

"He said he saw their bodies." Howard glanced at the scotch on the desk. 

"Do you believe him?"

He looked up at Nick, startled. "Yes, of course I do! I can tell when people are lying, Nick. He wasn't."

"Okay, I was just checking." Nick rubbed the bridge of his nose. "We'll send out a few agents to check the facility again. Maybe we missed something." 

"I want to go with them."

"All right." Nick finished his drink and poured himself another one. "There's something I need to talk to you about, Howard." 

"What?" He clenched his hands into fists and licked his lips.

"I know Steve doesn't like being stuck here at SHIELD, but I can't assign a security detail to him indefinitely. I need those agents back in the field." 

"He's not coming back here." Nick opened his mouth to protest, but Howard cut him off. "I'll hire bodyguards." 

"And tell them, what, Howard? That a terrorist bent on world domination wants his science experiment back? Do you really think anyone you hire will be equipped to handle HYDRA?"

"For the right price." Howard got to his feet. "Peggy's a free agent. She might not like me, but she adores Steve." 

"You're overly invested in this kid," Nick warned. 

"Of course I am. He's my alpha." He picked up his glass of scotch and drained it. "Thanks for the drink. Let me know when you plan to send out those agents to the HYDRA facility." Before Fury could respond, Howard walked out. 

***** 

Every time Howard climbed into bed with Steve, he told himself there was no reason to feel guilty. Yes, he was sleeping with a half-naked fifteen-year-old boy, but everything was aboveboard.

Then Steve kissed him and slid a hand up his shirt to idly stroke his nipples; he gasped in surprise. "Is this all right?" Steve whispered.

At first, Howard couldn't speak, his tongue felt too heavy, then Steve started to pull away. "Yes, yes, it's all right." He gripped the back of Steve's neck and brought him in for another kiss. 

Steve lazily explored Howard's mouth and played with his nipples until he squirmed. "Are they sensitive?" Steve murmured.

"Yeah." He groaned and arched in surprise when Steve pinched them hard. "God, Steve!"

"Can I lick them?" When Howard nodded, Steve quickly unbuttoned his shirt and lapped at them.

Howard dug his fingers into Steve's hair and moaned. His nipples had always been sensitive and Steve was driving him crazy with the attention.

"The other SHIELD agents call you Iron Man," Steve whispered and sucked on his left nipple.

"Ah!" Howard's cock jerked and his hole grew slicker by the second. 

"They asked me if you were sweet in bed or if it was like fucking a robot." Steve tugged on the drawstring of Howard's pajama pants untying the bow.

He gasped and lifted his hips. "W-What did you tell them?"

"I told them it was none of their business." Steve kissed his way down Howard's body until he got to Howard's belly button. He circled it with his tongue. "You are though, sweet. You're a sweet, sweet boy."

Howard whimpered and spread his legs. "Steve, please. I don't… I can't…" He wasn't sure what he was trying to say.

"Are you wet for me?" Steve slid his fingers under the waistband of Howard's pajamas.

"You know I am. I'm dripping wet." He lifted his hips so that Steve could pull off his pants and underwear. "Please fuck me. Steve, please… b-breed me."

Steve shuddered and wiggled out of his underwear. Then he climbed on top of Howard and kissed him, hard and desperate. "Yeah, yeah, I want that. Howard, I want that so much." 

He wrapped his legs around Steve's waist and urged him closer. "Go slow. I need to be able to sit tomorrow." He let out soft, drawn out moan as Steve eased into his body. "Yeah, like that. Just like that." 

Steve panted and nipped Howard's shoulder, then began to rock his hips. "I'm gonna knot you. I'm gonna fill you up with my come. I'm gonna put a baby inside of you." 

"Jesus, Steve!" He moved into Steve's thrusts, moaning as his pleasure mounted.

"You're mine," Steve said, reaching between them to give Howard's cock a couple of tugs.

He cried out and when Steve let go he stroked his cock, moving at a brutal pace. God, he loved getting fucked. He loved being opened and used and—fuck! He felt Steve's knot swell, it felt almost impossibly big, plugging him, It hurt a bit, just a bit, and that seemed to be just what he needed. Suddenly the pleasure was overwhelming. He gasped and jerked, his cock spurting into his hand, his hole clenching around Steve's cock, as he came. 

Steve whimpered and buried his face against Howard's neck. "S'good, Howard. 'S so, so good." 

Howard lowered his legs to the bed, feeling shaky and exhausted. He stroked Steve's hair and enjoyed the feeling of being knotted, knowing that Steve was taking the same sort of enjoyment from being milked. 

"I-I really like you, Howard," Steve said and shuddered.

He smiled and kissed Steve's temple. "I really like you, too, sweetheart." Neither of them said anything else until Steve unknotted.

"Did I do all right?" Steve settled next to him on the bed and stroked his face.

Howard nuzzled Steve's palm. He could feel Steve's come leaking out of him; it was nice. "You were perfect." 

"So were you. You were amazing." Steve hugged him and let out a yawn. "Good night." 

"Good night." He sighed and closed his eyes. 

***** 

Howard touched the gun in his holster and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He ignored the knowing glances from the other agents in the van and stared out the window, waiting for the go ahead to storm the warehouse. 

"Hey, Stark, you need me to get you a cushion to sit on?" Hodge asked as the other agents snickered. 

He ignored the taunt; he was used to it. It was an unfortunate consequence of working in alpha-centric fields. 

"I hear your little boy-toy prefers you on your back with your legs spread."

Howard contemplated breaking Hodge's nose but knew they probably needed the man. He looked up into Hodge's eyes and said in his coldest voice, "If you think I won't shoot you in the gut and leave you writhing on the floor of this van you are seriously mistaken." 

Hodge opened his mouth to retort and was interrupted by Nick's order to converge on the warehouse. As they climbed out of the van, Hodge slapped him on the ass. "Next time, sweetheart." 

*****

"Why is there blood on your hands?" Nick asked with a frown.

"Oh, my fist accidently hit Hodge in the face." Howard wiped the blood off on his pants and rubbed his bruised knuckles. "It looks like HYDRA cleared out the facility."

"Not quite." Nick gestured to the room behind him. "They left a few things behind."

He walked into the room and let out a soft sigh. Eight sheet-covered bodies were lined on the floor. He squatted next to the one closest to him and lifted the sheet. He wasn't a squeamish man, but he had to close his eyes for a few moments and take a deep breath. He gently replaced the sheet and rose to his feet. "Are they all like that?"

"Yeah," Nick said softly, walking into the room. 

"Jesus." He ran his fingers through his hair; they were *kids*. "I'm going to take that bastard apart, piece by piece." 

"Get in line." 

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "There are only eight bodies."

"We looked everywhere for the ninth, but so far we've come up with nothing. We're borrowing a couple of cadaver dogs from the local police." Nick didn't sound very optimistic about finding the missing body. 

"Why would he bury the last body?" Howard shook his head; that didn't make any sense. 

"Steve's sure all the other kids died?" 

"That's what he said." He let out a huff. "He must have been confused."

"Or lying," Nick said.

"To what purpose?" 

Nick shrugged. "That's a good question."

Howard rolled his eyes. "You think everyone's lying."

"And I'm usually right." 

***** 

Steve was stretched out on the couch, watching TV, when Howard walked into the house. He sat up and turned off the television. "You look pale."

"We raided an old HYDRA base today." He sat down next to Steve and put his arm around the boy. 

"What did you find?" Steve asked and rested his head on Howard's shoulder.

"Most of it was cleaned out. Except… Schmidt left us bodies. Eight bodies." 

Steve tensed and looked at Howard. "Who was missing?"

"James Barnes." 

"Bucky." Steve's lips trembled and his eyes filled with tears. "He told us to call him Bucky."

"You're sure he's dead? You saw his body?" 

"He never came back. He—" Steve's voice broke and buried his face in Howard's neck. "They took him away and he never came back. And I was alone." His breath hitched in his throat. "Do you think he's alive?" 

"No." Howard thought that Schmidt wasn't done dissecting the kid's body. 

Steve let out a choked sob and shook as Howard held him. 

***** 

Howard sat at the breakfast bar and watched Steve eat his cereal. Ever since hearing about the bodies, Steve had been withdrawn. It was beginning to worry him. "I've got meetings all day, but I should be home by seven. I thought we could order a pizza and watch a couple of movies. How does that sound?"

"Can we watch a couple of the Harry Potter movies?" Steve looked at him hopefully.

He smiled even though he hated those goddamn movies. "Yes. We'll even order pizza from that crappy little place you like." 

Steve set down his spoon. "It is *not* crappy!" 

"It's the worst pizza I've ever had." 

"Just because it doesn't have goat cheese and sun-dried heirloom tomato sauce doesn't make it terrible pizza." Steve smiled and shook his head.

Howard reached over and ran his fingers through Steve's hair, glad he managed to pull a smile from the boy. 

Steve playfully smacked his hand away. "Just for that I want anchovies on my pizza."

He made a moue of disgust, then got up to pour himself a cup of coffee. 

The door to the kitchen swung open and a familiar voice, *Tony's* voice said, "Wow, it actually happened. You replaced me with a younger, blonder model. I can't believe it."

Howard turned abruptly, almost spilling his coffee. "Tony? What the fuck are you doing here?"

Tony raised his eyebrows. "Um, I live here. At least, most my stuff is still here. It is still here, right? You didn’t sell it off."

"You're supposed to be in California." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Steve look from Howard to Tony and back again. 

"I'm here for the Nogura meeting. Martins caught rickets or something." Tony turned to Steve. "Wow, seriously, how old are you, kid?"

"Steve." Steve jumped off the stool and hurried over to Tony. He offered Tony his hand. "My name's Steve Rogers."

Tony took Steve's hand. "Well, Steve, squeeze twice if Howard's holding you here against your will."

Steve laughed and Howard could feel a headache starting behind his eyes. "Tony!"

Tony flung up his hands. "I'm just saying that if your boyfriend looks like he comes with an Amber Alert, maybe you ought to reevaluate your life choices, Howard."

"How do you know I'm his boyfriend?" Steve asked.

"You're wearing his pajama top." Tony tugged on a button on said top. "I bought them for him on his last birthday. Also, Obi told me."

Howard cursed. That son of a bitch. 

"Oh," Steve blushed, and then cleared his throat. "I hope you don’t mind, but I've been using your Wii." 

Tony shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I bought a new one while I was in California."

"Maybe we could play together later?" Steve smiled shyly.

"Yeah, I'd like that." Tony slung his arm over Steve's shoulders. "We can trade stories about grumpy bear over there."

Howard sighed and rubbed his face. His day just got worse. "We're going to be late if we don't leave now."

"Sure, let me just grab my files." Tony ambled out of the room like he had all the time in the world.

"Wow," Steve said. "He's cool."

He slumped against the counter. "Oh, God." 

***** 

"Don’t say a fucking word, Tony." Howard scrolled through the messages on his phone.

"What? I can't congratulate you on a successful nursery raid? I'm sure you'll raise him to be exactly what you need." Tony sounded bitter and angry.

"It wasn't exactly my choice, Tony."

"Oh, please, an accidental bonding? Give me a break." Tony snatched the phone out of his hand. "You're too careful to make a mistake like that." 

"And yet here I am, bonded to a fifteen year old." He held out his hand. "I hate to break it to you, Tony, but pizza parties and children's movies aren't exactly my idea of a good time." When Tony didn't give back the phone, he took it back. "Be nice to him." 

"Of course I'll be nice to him, he seems like a good kid. It's you I don't like, Howard."

He could see the challenge in Tony's eyes and not for the first time, he thought Tony really should have been born an alpha and not a beta. He held Tony's gaze for a good minute, then casually looked back down at his phone to finish checking his email. 

*****

Steve and Tony hit it off and by the end of the night they were the best of friends. Howard expected as much. Tony got along great with everyone, well, everyone except him. But he was willing to concede that was mostly his fault. 

He watched the boys from the doorway, drink in hand, as they played Mario Kart. Steve was laughing, laughing in a way that Howard had never heard; it sounded happy and carefree. It hurt a little to hear. He took a drink of his scotch, savoring the flavor

Peggy came up behind him and looked into the room. "It's nice to see them act their age."

Howard hummed softly.

"Nick is pulling the security detail at the end of the month." She leaned against the doorjamb and stared at him. "I'm going to stay on until I'm sure Steve is safe."

"I thought you might," he said and glanced at her. "Nick won't be happy."

"To hell with Nick. I'm not about to let a child go unprotected because he thinks it costs too much."

He couldn't help himself; he grinned. "Nick Fury, bureaucrat?"

She snickered. "Who would have thought?"

"Power changes a man," he said solemnly. Peggy rolled her eyes and for a moment it felt like old times. 

Then the smile slid from her face and she cleared her throat. "Well, I’m going to check the perimeter one more time before heading off to bed."

"Okay. Good night." 

She nodded and swiftly walked away.

He sighed, finished his scotch, and headed to the bar to pour himself another drink. 

***** 

Steve stretched out next to him on the bed and smiled. "I like Tony. He's a great guy. You must be so proud of him."

"Hmm." Howard slid a hand up Steve's shirt and stroked his stomach. "I'm glad you two hit it off. It was nice to hear you laugh."

"I laugh." Steve put his hand over Howard's and squeezed.

"Not where I can hear it."

Steve shrugged and stared up at the ceiling. "You're not around very much, are you? I mean, you've got your company and SHIELD and your friends."

"I've got responsibilities, Steve—"

"I know, you've said. And I get it. I'm not… I'm not mad at you or anything." He sighed as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. "It's a military campaign every time I want to go to the park."

Guilt was a ridiculous emotion, one he rarely indulged in. It made him do stupid things and this promised not to be an exception. "Do you want Tony to stay? I could have him transferred back to New York."

Steve turned towards Howard, his eyes wide. "Really?"

He shrugged. "I do own the company. And production is up 200% at the West Coast R&D since Tony knocked them into shape."

"Please?" Steve flung himself at Howard and hugged him tight. "I mean, if he wants to. It'd be nice to have someone around my own age to hang out with again." 

He hugged Steve back and kissed his temple. "I'll talk to Tony in the morning." 

"You're the best." Steve nuzzled Howard's neck, then bit it. 

"Jesus!" Howard bucked against Steve and lifted his chin. "Do that again."

"Gonna do more than that." Steve smiled and kissed him.

***** 

Howard was happy that Steve had a friend, even if it was Tony. He repeated that to himself as he watched the boys wrestle in front of the couch. They twisted and writhed against each other, each trying to gain the upper hand. It should have been funny, but as Howard watched, his stomach clenched in unease.

Steve pinned Tony down and crowed in triumph. "I got you now!"

Tony bucked and cursed between bouts of laughter. "You're a big, fat cheater! Tickling is unfair."

"All's fair in love and war," Steve said imperiously.

Howard took a step forward, then stopped. He fought back the instinctual urge to pull Steve off of Tony. He wanted to wrap his arms around Steve's body and bare his neck. He wanted to tell Tony to stay the fuck away from his alpha. It was ridiculous and he knew it. Tony showed no interest in Steve beyond friendship. Besides, Tony was a beta and his son.

Tony *howled* as Steve tickled him again.

Something in Howard snapped and before he knew it, he was stalking over to where the boys were struggling against each other. He stifled his first instinct—God, three weeks away from his heat and he was *already* feeling like a possessive little submissive—and gently stepped over the boys to sit on the couch. "You're going to break something."

"Sorry." Steve gave Howard an apologetic look and released Tony. Then he sat back against the couch, his arm brushing Howard's leg. 

Tony stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry.

"Very mature, Tony." Howard reached down and tangled his fingers in Steve's hair, ignoring the unease that roiled in his stomach. Unfortunately, it wasn't so easy to push aside and after a moment, he tugged on Steve's hair. "Sit up here with me."

Steve frowned, but sat next to him on the couch.

That helped, but it wasn’t quite enough to dispel the unease completely. He knew what would, but he wasn't one to give into jealousy, at least not jealousy born of instinct. 

Steve stared at Howard and cocked his head, after a moment, he reached out and gently laid his hand on the back of Howard's neck. The tension vanished and Howard wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or grateful. "Are you done for the day?"

He had half a dozen unfinished projects waiting for him downstairs and absolutely no desire to move. He leaned into Steve's touch and said, "I'm all yours."

Tony scoffed and pretended to gag.

"Let's watch a movie." Steve gave him a swift kiss on the mouth. 

"Due Date," Tony said, but Steve shook his head.

"I want to see The Maltese Falcon."

He fought the urge to squirm; Steve knew that was his favorite film. "That would be all right."

Tony sighed loudly. "If you two start making out, I'm getting the hose."

Steve rolled his eyes and got to his feet. "I'm gonna get a Coke. You two want anything?" Without even thinking about it, Howard grabbed Steve by the wrist and tugged him back down. Steve let out a surprised yelp and blinked at him. "Um, are you all right?"

Tony snickered and sat up. "Oh man, wait until he gets even closer to his heat. You won't be able to piss without him trying to zip you back up afterwards."

Howard glared at Tony, his body shaking with tension and embarrassment. "Shut up!" 

"Oh." Steve was quiet for a moment. He gently touched Howard's arm. "Will you please get us some soda and popcorn? Or at least ask Mr. Jarvis if he'll do it. Please?" Howard didn't fucking want to do anything and Steve sensed that, so he turned to Tony. "Will you—"

"No!" Howard was on his feet, hands clenched into fists, staring unhappily at Steve. Steve stared back at him in confusion. "I'll do it. I'll fucking do it!" He stalked out of the room and to the kitchen. Jarvis, thankfully, stayed out of his way. When he came back. Tony was stretched out on the couch and Steve was gone. "Where did he go?"

"Upstairs. I think you freaked him out." Tony squinted at him. "You were never like this with Mom." 

Howard fought the urge to fling the popcorn at Tony. "That was different. She was an omega, too."

"Whatever." Tony made a dismissive gesture. "All I know is that your little temper tantrum upset Steve."

"It wasn't—"

"I don't care!" Tony grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. "Leave the popcorn and soda."

He took a deep breath, then another, and set the soda and popcorn on the coffee table because he was a mature adult. Unlike Tony, the little shit. 

Steve wasn't in their bedroom, so he checked the blue room. The boy was standing in front of the window, staring down at the garden below. 

"I'm sorry." Howard sat on the bed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I just don't like being forced to do things." 

Steve leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. "Who's forcing you?"

He gave Steve a skeptical look. "Are you telling me that you don't have the urge to put me on my knees or bend me over every surface of this house?"

Steve blushed and looked away. "I always feel that way. Besides, I thought you'd be used to all this." 

"Maria was an omega, Steve. There wasn't a bond. We didn't… This is different. My body reacts differently with you. My brain wants different things." And wasn’t *that* fucking wonderful. 

"It's so hard to get used to. I don't know what I'm doing."

He laughed softly. "Steve, sweetheart, you're fifteen. You'd feel that way regardless."

Steve glared at him. 

Howard let out a soft huff, then walked over to Steve and stroked his hair. "Listen, in the next few weeks, your instinctual desires will start to get stronger and stronger. Just remember that we evolved, we're rational beings, and you don't have to follow every damn instinct you have. Okay?"

"Yes. I guess so." 

"Good enough. Now come on, I really would like to see The Maltese Falcon." He took Steve's hand and led him out of the room. 

***** 

Howard dumped the contents of his supply drawer onto his desk and began to sort everything into piles. He couldn't believe how messy and disorganized his desk was; it was a tragedy. God, his whole office was a mess. It'd take him all day to get everything the way it should be. The way it needed to be. 

He sorted the pens by color, then size, and finally brand and did same with his sticky notes, paperclips, notebooks, binder clips. He was in the middle of reorganizing his filing cabinet when Obi came in and sighed. 

"You realize that you won't be able to find anything later."

Howard looked up and frowned. "Are your shoes clean? No, never mind. Take them off."

Obi, didn't argue, he just slipped off his shoes and picked them up. "Let me guess, two weeks until your heat."

"Ten days." Howard went back to his filing. "I reorganized my closet yesterday. And cleaned out the fridge." 

"If you want, you can clean my office." Obi flopped into a chair and smirked.

Howard glared at him. "Fuck you."

"Just trying to help. " Obi shrugged. "How's your alpha handling everything?"

His glare morphed into a scowl. "I caught him marking the garden like a fucking dog." Obi burst into laughter. "It's not funny!"

"It's a little funny." Obi wiped his eyes and snickered.

"He keeps trying to start fights with the staff."

"Well, *that's* normal, at least. I don't know how many times I got into a fight right before my rut. He'll grow out of it." He shrugged. "As for the marking thing, you might want to talk to his doctor."

"Helpful, real fucking helpful." 

"I do what I can." Obi saluted. "So, do you need me to go to the meeting with R&D so you can polish your coin collection?"

Howard let out a sigh of frustration and rubbed his face. He wanted to say no, that he could handle a meeting with his brain trust, but in all honesty, he'd probably spend all his time thinking about his partially organized files. "Yes, please." 

Obi nodded and got to his feet. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"

"Yeah, I will. I just want to finish this." Maybe if he color-coded the folders and not just the tabs that would make everything easier. 

***** 

"I got something for you," Steve said, crowding Howard against the door when he got home. 

Not that Howard was complaining. He leaned into Steve's body, and dropped his briefcase so he could place his hands on Steve's hips. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out a silk tie that looked like it had been in a paintball fight. The colors were bright and garish and it was a truly horrendous tie.

Howard loved it. Well, no, he didn't love it, but the colors were amazing. He wrapped it around his hand and admired it. "Thank you. It's perfect." He imagined Steve shoving him onto the bed and tying his hands together with it before fucking him into the mattress. He shuddered and pressed a messy kiss to Steve's mouth. 

Steve grinned and nipped his bottom lip hard enough to sting. Howard moaned and tipped his head back so Steve could bite and suck and mark his neck. "I wanna fuck you."

"Yeah." Howard grabbed Steve's head and kissed him. "Let's… Steve…" 

Steve nodded and they tripped and stumbled their way upstairs, shedding clothing as they went. Once in the bedroom, Steve pushed Howard facedown on the bed, and lifted his ass in the air.

Howard rubbed his face against the duvet, panting harshly, his cock pressed firmly against his abdomen, his hole leaking. 

"So wet," Steve whispered, sliding a thumb down Howard's perineum and circling his asshole.

He groaned and gripped the duvet. "C'mon, Steve. C'mon!"

"You're always so wet for me." Steve spread his ass cheeks and—

Howard cried out in surprise when he felt Steve's mouth against his hole, tongue darting out to lave against it. Oh, oh, God! No one had ever… he'd never… Steve's tongue kept catching against the rim of his hole, sending shivers of pleasure through him. It was so dirty, he didn't know whether he wanted to pull away or press back against Steve's tongue.

"Mmm." Steve buried his face against Howard's ass, lapping away the wetness, tongue delving into Howard's quivering hole, then sucking at it.

He tried to keep quiet, he tired to keep still, but it felt too damn good. He tugged at his cock and rubbed back against Steve's mouth, his every exhalation a drawn out moan. "Steve, oh, god, Steve!"

Steve pulled away with a wet slurp, pushed his fingers inside of Howard's ass and curled them.

Howard squeezed his cock and cried out, his orgasm shaking through him like an earthquake, leaving him gasping and trembling. He barely felt Steve remove his fingers before the boy was licking his hole again. Howard felt as if he should protest, but honestly it wasn't so bad. It was almost soothing actually. He hummed softly and Steve stroked his hips. He braced himself on his forearms and closed his eyes, concentrating on the feel of Steve's tongue, circling and circling his hole before darting it with a quick stab that made his breath hitch in his throat.

"Gonna come for me again, Howard?" Steve mumbled. "Gonna shake apart for me?"

He shivered and clenched when Steve jabbed into him. "Steve."

"I want you to be a good boy for me. I want you to tell me how much you love this." Steve slurped at his hole and oh, god, it was such a dirty sound.

He felt filthy and used and the pleasure of it was a slow burn in his gut. "It's so good. No one's ever done this for me. No one's ever made me come like this. Just you, Steve. Only you. Oh, sweetheart, please." He babbled incoherently as Steve lazily tongue-fucked him. He buried his face against the duvet to stifle his noises and he managed, until he felt Steve's teeth scrape against his hole. His whole body jerked in surprise and he yelped. 

Steve chuckled and did it again and again until Howard was squirming and whining. "Like that?" Howard reached back, grabbed Steve by the hair, and tugged him closer, which made him laugh. "Yeah, you like that." 

He whimpered and curled his toes as Steve continued his assault, movements becoming rough. The slow burn blazed through him and rocked back against Steve's face, sharp cries escaping his lips. His pleasure increased at an exponential rate and when Steve's teeth scraped against him again, that was it. He felt like he was being burned up from the inside out, his orgasm raging through him, leaving him hollow. Or it would have left him hollow, but as soon as the heat began to fade, Steve shoved fingers inside of him and twisted and pleasure flared hot, but not as hot as before, as he came again.

Steve might have continued, seemed ready to continue, but Howard pushed him away with a breathy sound of protest. "Okay, okay, I get it." Steve slapped him on the ass. "Get on your knees on the floor." 

Howard grunted softly, then shakily crawled out of bed and knelt on the floor. His hole was loose and felt raw, like he'd been fucked for hours.

Steve sat on the bed, his cock in hand, mouth red and swollen, the lower half of his face shiny and wet. "Open your mouth."

He let his mouth fall open and watched Steve jerk off. The first spurt of come made it into his mouth, but the second splashed across his chin and lower lip. He closed his eyes, then, feeling the hot splatter across his face again and again, swallowing what little made it into his mouth. 

When Steve was done, he rubbed the come into Howard's face, throat, and hair.

Howard opened his eyes and looked up at Steve. The boy still had his cock in hand and his eyes were dark. Something hot and dirty twisted low in Howard's belly and suddenly he knew exactly what Steve was thinking. A part of him wanted to whine and beg Steve to do it, to piss over his face, to mark him. He huffed softly and shook his head. "No. Steve. No."

The boy shuddered and closed his eyes. He took a few deep breaths, then let go of his cock. When he looked at Howard again, the darkness in his eyes was gone. "We should get cleaned up," he said, his voice soft.

Howard nodded and let Steve help him up. After their shower, they curled up in bed.

"Did I hurt you?" Steve asked and Howard shook his head. "I want to make you mine." He sounded ashamed, like it was some deep, horrible secret.

"I know. It's all right." He stroked Steve's hair and kissed his cheek. "It won't be so bad after our cycle."

Steve's mouth twisted unhappily, but that was the only response he gave Howard's words. 

***** 

Howard was glad that this heat was normal, that he could ease into it, that he didn’t have to fight against it because of circumstances. Forced heats put a big strain on the body and he wasn't a young man anymore. 

The heat happened exactly when he expect it to. It woke him in the middle of the night, his body burning with need, aching for Steve, his hole loose and wet, his cock standing at attention. It was good. It was perfect. His brain was hazy with lust and he rolled over onto his hands and knees, forehead pressed to the bed, his ass in the air, presenting himself.

Steve was ready, scrambling behind him, pushing inside in one smooth stroke.

Howard moaned and rolled his hips, hands clawing at the sheets. The hours blurred together as Steve fucked him, knotted him, filled him with come. It wasn't enough, it was never enough. He wanted more. More, more, more; the want hurt. It burned. He was hot, so hot, and nothing cooled him. Not fucking, not the cool water Steve made him drink, or the lukewarm baths they took when their bodies allowed them a break.

He needed and Steve gave.

*****  
Howard was sticky and sore and his whole body ached, but it was good. He felt good. The heat was dispersing and he could enjoy being tangled up in Steve's body, the boy's breath hot against his neck. He touched his belly, and allowed himself a moment to imagine it swelling with a child, Steve's child. He could be pregnant right now. He flushed at the thought, and his belly twisted with pleasure. 

Steve sighed and his hand joined Howard's, rubbing slow circles on his belly.

***** 

He sat on the edge of the bed, holding the pill in his hand, just staring at it. 

Steve came into from the bathroom, toweling his hair. "What's that?"

"Plan B."

"What's plan A?" Steve frowned and Howard almost laughed. 

"No, it's..." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It's emergency contraceptive. It's a precaution."

"Oh." Steve stood there, awkwardly, looking unhappy and unsure. "I'll get you some water." He turned to go and Howard said his name. He looked over his should and forced a smile. "I drew a bath for you."

"I'm sorry." And he was. Howard was so sorry. Steve deserved someone who was willing to give him a family.

Steve shrugged. "You're just trying to be careful."

***** 

Obi was a rat bastard son of a bitch and Howard didn't know why he allowed the man to talk him into these lunches with Tony. He was on his third scotch and ready for a fourth and Tony hadn't looked up from his cell phone since they left the office. 

"Who're you texting, my boy?" Obi asked.

"Rhodey. He's bitching about all the homework he's got. I'm telling him to suck it up." Tony glanced up at Obi and grinned. 

Obi grinned back and gently slapped Tony's shoulder. "Not everyone's as smart as you, Tony."

Howard racked his brains as he tried to remember Rhodey. "Have I met him?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Howard, you have. You told him that ROTC was a waste of time and he should concentrate on engineering instead."

He drained his scotch and gestured to their waiter to bring him another one. "I didn't say it like that." 

"Yeah, and that makes it all right." Tony shook his head. "Shouldn't we get back to the office soon?"

"He's a smart young man, Tony—"

"Oh, please! You don't know that! You couldn't even remember him thirty seconds ago." 

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the waiter with his drink. The man hesitated when he heard Tony's raised voice. Howard gestured the man over and took his scotch. Then he said, "Tony, stop being overly dramatic." 

Obi sighed loudly and rubbed his head. "Do we have to do this every time we have lunch?"

Howard shrugged and opened his mouth to comment when his phone rang. He picked it up off the table and checked the number. He frowned; why was Peggy calling him. Unless… shit! "What's the situation, Peggy?"

"Come home. Steve's gone," she said and hung up. 

"I have to go." He got to his feet, took some money out of his wallet, and tossed it on the table. After a moment's hesitation, he gulped down his drink.

"What's wrong?" Obi asked.

He shook his head. "It's Steve, don’t worry about it. Cover me for the rest of the day. I'll call you later." As he headed for the exit, he noticed Tony was following him. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going with you." Tony gave him a stubborn look. "I'll drive." 

Howard wanted to argue, but he also didn't want to waste anymore time. "Fine!" He tossed Tony the keys to his car.

Tony didn't say anything until they were on the road. "So what's going on? What's wrong with Steve?"

"He's gone." His voice didn’t shake; he wouldn't let it.

"Was it Schmidt? I thought your SHIELD agents were watching him?" Tony wove his way in and out of traffic.

"He told you? He— Jesus Christ! I'm gonna kill him." What was Steve thinking? 

"To be fair, I already knew about SHIELD. You don't keep your computer files nearly as protected as you think you do."

Howard needed another drink. He needed a dozen drinks. "He told you about Schmidt."

"Yeah, I kept bugging him until he told me the real story. I mean, really, Howard? An accidental bonding? I don't care if you were in the middle of the ocean on a deserted island with Steve. You would *never* be that careless around an unbonded alpha during their rut. So was it Schmidt?"

"I don't know. All Peggy told me was that Steve was gone and that I should come home." Howard leaned his forehead against the window and closed his eyes. 

"I'm sure he's okay."

Howard snorted. "Tony, don't try to reassure me. You're not very good at it." 

***** 

Peggy was waiting for them when they walked through the door. Before Howard could say anything, she raised her hand in gesture for him to keep silent. "He wasn't taken. From what evidence we've gathered, he—" She flushed and looked pissed off. "He escaped." 

"He *escaped*." He might have said more, he might have denigrated her skills as an agent, but Tony burst into laughter. "What the hell are you laughing at?"

"Are you even listening to yourselves? He *escaped*? What? Is he a prisoner? Is he fucking Rapunzel and he's gotta be locked up in his tower?" Tony laughed. "He's fifteen and he's been stuck in this house for six months. He can't even walk around the block without a fucking helicopter following him. Of course he's been sneaking out of the house!"

"It's for his own good, Tony!" Howard could feel himself losing grip of his temper.

"Yeah, remember how well that excuse worked on me when I was fifteen." Tony raised his eyebrows.

"He's right, Howard. Dammit, I should have seen it. I was so busy trying to keep Schmidt out, I didn't even think about keeping Steve in." 

"Look, we'll assign blame later. Right now, we need to find Steve." He took a deep breath. "Where would he go?"

"You're his omega, you tell us," Peggy said.

Howard shook his head. "I don't know. I… Steve and I…"

"I know where he is." Tony caught Howard's gaze. "Unlike some people, I make time for Steve."

He growled and took a step towards Tony. He might have… Well, he didn't know what he would have done if Peggy hadn't stepped between them. 

She gave them both a quelling look. "Where is he, Tony?"

"There's a park a couple of blocks from where he grew up. His mom took him there a lot when he was little. He said that whenever he needed to get away, he'd go there, do some sketching."

Peggy nodded. "Yes, he's asked to go there a few times. I told him it was too much of a security risk. I'll send someone there to check. Is there anywhere else he might go?"

Tony sighed. "I'll make a list." 

Howard hadn't felt so useless in a long time. 

***** 

They didn't actually find Steve, but as soon as he stepped foot on the mansion grounds Peggy snatched him up and dragged him into Howard's office.

Steve slumped into a chair, arms crossed over his chest, looking defiant. He opened his mouth to speak, but Howard growled.

"Save it! I don't want to hear your fucking excuses. Do you know how much danger you put yourself in today? And not just yourself, but Peggy and the other agents. You could have been killed! You could have been taken by Schmidt. You—"

Steve rolled his eyes. "I've been sneaking out for months and nothing's happened."

"I said I didn't want to hear your fucking excuses!" Howard clutched the arms of his chair. "I am so angry with you right now, Steve. I can't believe you would abuse my trust. After our little conversation, Peggy is going to take you upstairs to pack. You're going back to SHIELD tonight."

"No!" Steve jumped to his feet. "No, I am not going back there!"

"This is not a negotiation. I am not going to let you put yourself in danger again!" His voice trembled and he fought the urge to grab Steve and shake him.

"Please, Howard, don't send me back there." Steve rushed to his side and tried to touch his face; Howard pushed Steve's hand away. "I promise I won't sneak out again."

"I've made my decision," he said in his coldest voice. His heart was pounding in his chest and he felt sick.

Steve's whole body stiffened. "No."

"Yes." 

"Tony was right." Steve looked at Howard, his gaze flat and unemotional. "He said you didn't like people who made your life messy. I guess it was only a matter of time before you sent me away." He reached over, grabbed Howard's wrist, and snapped the ties of the bracelet. 

Howard gasped; it felt like Steve had punched him in the gut. 

Steve put the bracelet in his pocket. "If you send me back, that's it, we're done. If you send me back, you're not my omega anymore."

"Steve," he said softly, his breath hitching in his throat. "You don't—" No, no, he had to be strong. This was about Steve's safety. "You've got an hour to pack." 

"I don't need an hour. I don't want anything you bought me." Steve turned away and walked out without saying goodbye.

***** 

It didn't matter. 

Steve was safe in SHIELD custody and Howard never wanted an alpha anyway. He should celebrate. 

He… He opened a bottle of vodka—God, he fucking hated vodka—and started drinking. And if it was hard to breathe, well, that happened sometimes when he drank too much. 

***** 

Howard didn't need to be sober to run his business. As long as he kept making people money, no one cared if he had a couple of drinks at a breakfast meeting or that he wasn't quite steady in the afternoon. 

Well, almost no one. 

"I think you've had enough, Howard." Obi took the drink from his hand and finished it off. So much for a leisurely lunch.

"I'm fine. I'm not driving and all I have this afternoon is a meeting with R&D." He picked up his glass of water and sipped it. "See? I'm even hydrating."

"I'm worried about you," Obi said softly. "The last time you drank this much was after… after the accident. I think you should bring Steve home."

Howard felt himself go cold. "That's none of your business."

"Of course it's my business. You're my friend. Look, I don't know what's going on. Tony said you sent Steve away to protect him. If that's the case, go with him. You can run the company remotely for awhile."

"Leave it alone, Obi."

"No." Obi grabbed him by the wrist. "You're killing yourself."

"We're done here." Howard pulled out of Obi's grasp and stumbled to his feet.

"The board is starting to grumble. If you don’t sober up, you're looking at an injunction." Obi rose to his feet and gripped Howard's arm. "Howard, please. Let me get you some help."

"You can't help me. Nobody can help me." He closed his eyes and let out a shuddery breath.

"I can make sure you get home safe." Obi put his arm around Howard's shoulders and led him out.

***** 

It was a Saturday, he knew that because Jarvis hadn't woken him that morning, and he was in his study, drinking. 

Tony came into the room, looking disgusted, but then he always looked disgusted when it came to Howard. "How many bottles is that?" he asked.

"This is still my first." He tipped the bottle into his mouth and drank deeply. 

"I'm visiting Steve today. You should come with me."

"Why would I do that?" Steve didn't want to see him; the boy had made it clear that it was over.

"Because he misses you. Because you miss him." Tony threw his hands in the air. "He wants to see you, Howard, he just doesn't know how to ask."

"And how the hell do you know that?"

"He's a kid who was thrown into a horrible situation and he said some terrible things to someone he cares about. He thinks he's ruined it. He thinks you'll never forgive him." Tony's voice trembled. "He's sorry and he doesn’t know how to apologize. He's a kid and he doesn't know what to do to make it right. Come with me."

Howard shook his head, feeling tired and sick. "It's better this way. I don't exactly have the greatest track record when it comes to this, Tony. You know that. He's safer this way." 

"Howard—"

"No." He took another drink. "Go away, Tony."

"You're a jackass. And you deserve to be alone. You deserve every horrible thing that's ever happened to you!" Tony grabbed the bottle out of his hand and threw it at the wall; it shattered.

He looked up at Tony, surprised. "I know."

***** 

Howard had not been having a good week. To be fair, he hadn't had a good week in almost six years. Still, this one was particularly terrible. Obi had been on his case about drinking again, Tony refused to talk to him, even at work, and drinking did nothing to help the aching emptiness he felt every moment of every day.

God, he was pathetic.

When he got home, he tossed his briefcase on the floor and collapsed, face first, onto the couch with a groan. He just wanted a long hot shower and then maybe some sleep.

"Bad day at the office, dear?"

He jerked in surprise and then groaned; he didn't want to deal with this shit right now. "What the fuck do you want, Nick?"

Nick stepped out from the shadows. "Schmidt made his move today."

"Shit!" Howard sat up quickly, then gagged as his stomach rebelled. He forced himself to take deep breaths until the nauseous feeling went away. "What happened? How's Steve?"

"A dozen HYDRA agents attacked the safe house a few hours ago. Steve's fine. We've moved him to the helicarrier." Nick walked over to Howard and loomed. "I'm here to take you there now, too."

"Really? Is that what you think is gonna happen?" Howard laughed. "Schmidt doesn't want me, he wants Steve."

"And what if he tries going through you to get to Steve? What then?"

He stretched out on the couch and grinned. "I can take care of myself. I'm still a trained SHIELD agent."

"Don't play this bullshit game with me, Howard. You can't even fucking walk straight, much less take care of yourself." Nick crossed his arms over his chest and glared. "Are you coming with me or not?"

"Not. Now if that's all, I'd like you to leave." 

Nick sighed and shook his head. "All right, fine. If that's how you want to play it."

"That's how I want to play it. " He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Nick was gone. 

*****

Howard wasn't an idiot. He knew the first thing Nick would do was assign a few agents to tail him. Some days he let it stand, other days he did his best to lose them. 

It was amusing. And it probably pissed off Nick, which was an added bonus.

He knew it was a dangerous game. Schmidt wanted Steve, but he might be willing to try for Howard as a consolation prize. Still, Howard was sure he could take care of himself. 

His arrogance was a failing. He wasn't going to deny it. 

***** 

Howard was coming out of his fourth club of the night—he'd lost his security detail somewhere between the second and third club—when the HYDRA agents nabbed him. He didn't fight them as they ushered him into the back of a van; he was drunk and there were three of them. But the one who jabbed him in the arm with a needle got a punch in the nose right before he passed out. Stupid fuckers. 

When Howard came to, he was strapped to a gurney, naked, and Schmidt was staring down at him. Next to Schmidt was a dark-haired kid about Tony's age with cold eyes and a metal arm: Barnes. 

"Long time no see, Schmidt. But you didn’t have to go through all this trouble to see me. You could have just called." 

Schmidt smiled and touched Howard's shoulder. "Is that so? You didn't seem to enjoy my hospitality last time, Stark."

"I had a previous engagement." He smiled. "I'm a little disappointed. No Erskine this time?" His eyes darted around the room. There was no one else but the three of them.

"Ah." Schmidt tilted his head and shrugged a shoulder. "He was no longer of any use to me."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Howard's stomach twisted with disappointment and grief. Erskine was a brilliant man; his ideas could have revolutionized medicine. "What happened to the kid's arm?"

Barnes twitched, but other than that, there was no reaction.

"You mean my Winter Soldier? I cut it off. As you know, Erskine's formula gave the test subjects superior healing. I wanted to see how far that healing would go." Schmidt looked momentarily disappointed. "He is an… inferior subject. That's why you're here, Stark. I want my other test subject back." 

Howard laughed. "I don't have him. But you know that."

"You'll tell me how to breach SHIELD's defenses." Schmidt caressed Howard's chest; his skin crawled. 

"I think you overestimate my importance. I don't know a damn thing about their defenses." He tried to jerk away from Schmidt's touch.

Schmidt grabbed Howard's hair and yanked his head back. "Don't play me for a fool, Stark. You know, it's a pity that brat didn't impregnate you. I would have liked to have cut it out of you. I would have liked to see your face when I dissected it. Maybe I'll make you watch as I vivisect the boy. They always scream so prettily."

Howard trembled and his stomach roiled at the thought. He spat at Schmidt. "Go to hell, you fucking psychopath."

Schmidt backhanded him. "Very well. I suppose I'll have to persuade you." 

***** 

Torture was inelegant.

It was blood and sweat and piss and shit. It was screaming until your throat was raw and crying until the tears ran dry and your nose was clotted with blood and snot. It was retching and vomiting until all you could do was dry heave.

It was pleading.

It was begging. 

It was giving not quite enough to betray.

***** 

"Tell me how to get into the helicarrier, Stark," Schmidt whispered, caressing Howard's sweat-soaked hair. "Tell me and all this will stop."

"I don't know," he sobbed. "I don't know!" He screamed when Schmidt ripped out another of his nails. "Please! God, please, I can't help you! I don't know anything!"

"You're lying. You're—" Schmidt looked over at something Howard couldn't see and frowned. Then he swore in German. "Watch him," he told Barnes then rushed out of the room. 

Howard closed his eyes in relief. He knew it wouldn’t be long before Schmidt was back, but he took what little respite he could. He didn't open his eyes again, until he felt a hand on his arm. He gasped in shock.

Barnes looked at him apologetically and held up a cup of water. "I thought you might be thirsty." 

"Please," he said, because he was. His lips were cracked and his throat was so dry that it hurt to swallow. Barnes brought the cup to his mouth and he drank greedily. "Thank you. James Buchanan Barnes, right?"

"I'm Winter Soldier." The kid took a step back, face going blank.

"Steve said that you told everyone to call you Bucky. He said that you were both from Brooklyn." God, he knew this was a delicate, dangerous game he was playing.

Barnes—Bucky shook his head. "I'm from nowhere."

"You and Steve became good friends. He was really sad when he thought you'd died." Howard swallowed hard and glanced at the door. "I'm Steve's omega. He's probably worried sick about me. And I gotta admit, Bucky, I'd rather be home with him."

"I'm not Bucky!" the kid snarled. "I’m the Winter Soldier!" 

"That's not what Steve said."

"Steve's full of shit!" Bucky's face crumpled. "He thought the cops were gonna save us, but they didn't. And now everyone's dead and I got this for an arm!" He held up his metal prosthesis. 

"I know. Bucky, I know. You're mad and scared and we should have found you. We should have saved you." He wanted to wring Schmidt's neck. Bucky, Steve, and the others, they were all so damn young. They should have been worried about boyfriends and girlfriends and homework. Not life and death and human experimentation. "But here's your chance to save yourself. Help me out of here, Bucky, and I promise that Schmidt will never touch you again." 

"You can't help me. You can't even help yourself." Bucky turned away from him and, no matter what he said, refused to respond.

***** 

Howard didn't know how long Schmidt had him. It could have been hours, weeks, months; his life was a blur of pain. He gave it all up in the end: every security code, every safety protocol. It didn’t matter; Nick would have changed them when Howard was captured. 

Steve was safe: Schmidt wouldn't be able to touch him. 

His convulsed as Schmidt sent an electrical current though him; he was too exhausted to even whimper.

"You're going to kill him," Bucky said and Schmidt turned to him with a scowl.

"Do you care?"

Bucky tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "No. It just seems like a waste. He's given us everything we need. Why bother with this? Just kill him."

"Now *that* would be waste of a perfectly good omega." Schmidt caressed Howard's cheek.

"What do you mean?"

"Stark is fertile. I had hoped that my other little soldier would have planted his seed, but it seems I must leave that up to you."

"No," Howard whispered. "Rather die."

"You don't have a choice." Schmidt gripped Howard by the chin and squeezed roughly. "The first one I will take from your body as soon as it's viable. I'll make you watch as I open it up. I'll let the second live, another soldier for my army. If you're good, if you're very good, I may even let you watch it grow up." 

Howard fought the urge to retch. Behind Schmidt, Bucky froze, a look of horror on his face and Howard knew he had to act. "You're a monster. You'd murder a child for an experiment? My child? *His* child? I'd kill you first." 

Bucky's face went blank; Howard hoped that was a good sign.

Schmidt laughed. "Better men than you have tried."

"But not worse," Bucky said, body tensing, hands clenching into fists.

Schmidt turned at the comment and Bucky punched him the face with his prosthetic arm. Howard winced, because fuck, that had to have hurt. Schmidt stumbled back with a grunt, blood pouring out of his nose. "You dare? You *dare*?"

"Yeah. I dare." Bucky lifted his chin and raised his fists. "You made me an alpha. Alphas protect omegas. They protect kids."

"I also made you a soldier. And soldiers obey!"

He shook his head. "Not this time."

"Then you are nothing." Schmidt wiped the blood from his nose. "And when I am done with you, you will be less than nothing. I will wipe every memory from your brain."

Bucky smiled, then grabbed the tray of torture instruments and threw them. Schmidt batted them away and launched himself at the kid with a roar. They struggled for a moment before Schmidt kneed Bucky in the stomach. The kid groaned and staggered back. Schmidt took advantage of those few seconds; he pulled a knife from his boot and tried to slice open Bucky's gut. Bucky managed to stumble back, but he wasn't fast enough; blood stained the kid's shirt.

Then something happened. Howard's body went hot all over, almost like the beginning of a heat, but not quite. Excitement quickened his body, but fear did, too. His hair stood on end. He wanted to bare his throat. He wanted to lower himself onto his belly and whimper out his submission. Jesus Christ, what the fuck was going on?

Bucky snarled and his eyes—it was a trick of the light because eyes don't glow. Schmidt laughed and murmured something in German, something that made Bucky's face twist in anger. The kid launched himself at Schmidt and they grappled on the floor, the sounds of snarling and growling filling the air.

Howard twisted in his bonds as he tried to see what was going on. It wasn't very much; they were almost out of his field of vision.

Then there was the sound of metal hitting flesh—Schmidt cried out—and Howard heard it again and again and again. By the end, it was a wet sound.

It stopped, finally, and he could hear Bucky's quiet sobs. Howard wished he could let the boy have his moment. He really did. "Let me out."

Bucky took a deep breath, then another, and stumbled to his feet: blood and viscera painted his front. "Wait." The kid turned to one of the computers and typed away frantically. "I'm sending an alert to the police. Will SHIELD pick it up?"

"Yeah. Now let me out before the guards come in." His heart sped up and he was desperate to get out.

"They won't. They got orders." Bucky sounded like he wanted to be sick, but after a moment, he unbuckled Howard's restraints. Then he turned back to the computer and suddenly alarms blared and a recorded voice was telling all personnel to evacuate immediately. 

"I want to get outside before SHIELD gets here. Help me." He carefully sat up, ignoring the throbbing agony of his body.

"No. No, I—" Bucky walked over to a weapons locker against the far wall and keyed it open. He took out a few handguns, and brought them over. "Do you know how to use a gun?"

"I'm a weapons contractor. I can make you one if I need to!" He snatched one of the Glocks from Bucky's hand and checked to see if it was loaded. It was. 

"Good." Bucky set the other gun next to him on the gurney. "Tell Steve we're even. Tell him… Tell him if he comes looking for me, I'll kill him. I'll kill anyone who gets too close."

"Look, I know you're upset, Bucky. I know you're scared, but SHIELD can help you. I can help you. We're the good guys." He tried to touch the kid's arm, but Bucky stepped out his reach. "And I know Steve would like to see you."

"I'm tired of being a science experiment," Bucky said, his voice shaking. "I'm not like Steve, I don’t believe in knights in shining armor. I don't believe in good guys. Schmidt made me a monster. Steve, too. You should keep that in mind. Remember what I said. I'd hate to have to kill you later."

Howard considered shooting the kid. It would be easy, injured or not, he was a damn good shot. But in the end, he let Bucky go. 

*****

Once Bucky was gone, he eased himself onto the floor with his guns and crawled to a defensible position. He only had to shoot a few HYDRA agents before Nick came into the room, as cool as you please.

"I ought to shoot you for taking so long," he said, exhaustion crashing over him like a wave.

"Next time, don't ditch your security detail." Nick walked across the room, pausing at the bloody remains of Schmidt. "Nasty. You?"

"No. This might be hard to believe, but he wasn't well liked by his men."

"Huh." Nick poked what was left of Schmidt's torso with the tip of his boot, then continued his way across the room. He knelt in front of Howard. "You look like shit."

"Yeah. I'm gonna pass out now." He closed his eyes and allowed himself to let go. 

***** 

The next time he opened his eyes, he was in one of SHIELD's hospital rooms and Tony was sprawled in a guest chair, texting. Howard let out a soft huff of amusement.

Tony looked up and something like relief flitted across his face. "So you finally decided to wake up, did you?" 

Howard tried to speak, but his throat was too dry. Tony poured him some water and helped him drink without spilling it. "How long?"

"A week."

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His whole body still hurt, but not as badly as he expected; they must have had him on some type of pain medication. "What about Steve? Is he all right?" 

Tony was silent for a moment, which wasn't a good sign. "SHIELD kept the bad guys away from him."

What the hell kind of answer was that? "What's going on?" 

"I don't know!" Tony let out an exasperated sigh—no, not exasperated, angry. "They won't let me see him! I tried hacking their security but… No one will tell me anything except that they're keeping him under surveillance for his own safety!"

"Okay, okay, calm down." His heart rate increased and he remembered what Bucky said about not believing in good guys. "I'll talk to Nick and get this straightened out."

***** 

After the third day of getting absolutely nowhere, Howard dressed and staggered off to free Steve. By the time he reached the holding cells, he was soaked in sweat and panting. His limbs trembled with exhaustion—shit, maybe he should have waited for Tony to get off work—and all he wanted to do was collapse in bed with Steve and sleep for a week. 

"I'm sorry, sir," said the young agent guarding Steve's cell. "No one is allowed entry without Director Fury's permission."

Howard snarled and crowded up against the agent; the kid blanched. "I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you right. Are you trying to piss me off, kid?"

"J-Johnson, sir." The kid swallowed hard. 

"Johnson." Howard bared his teeth. "The last guy who pissed me off wound up splattering the inside of his barracks when his gun accidentally exploded."

"Guns don't explode, sir. N-Not enough to do something like that."

"They do when I'm done with them," he said softly. "Now let me in the damn cell before you wind up looking like a Jackson Pollock painting."

"No, sir. I'm sorry, sir!" Johnson gripped his gun and clenched his jaw.

Howard narrowed his eyes and gathered his strength. It might take a bit longer than normal, but he was sure he could drop the kid.

"Stand down, Howard!" Nick said, stalking towards them, Peggy right behind him. 

"Well, it's about damn time." He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. "Are you gonna tell me why you have a fifteen year old kid in lockdown?"

"Johnson, get the hell out of here!" Nick silently waited until the kid double-timed down the corridor and was out of sight. "It was for his own safety."

"For his own safety? Were you afraid that HYDRA had infiltrated the helicarrier?" Howard looked at Peggy. "C'mon, Peggy, what's going on? What's with this bullshit?"

Peggy and Nick exchanged a look, then she sighed. "When I told Steve that Schmidt had taken you, he had a violent outburst."

Nick snorted. "He took down four of my agents."

"Sounds to me like SHIELD needs to step up their training program." Howard was both flattered and worried. He knew that Steve had enhanced strength and speed, but the boy never seemed to use it.

"This isn't funny," Nick said.

Howard raised an eyebrow. "Who's laughing?"

Peggy sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Howard, Steve's feral."

He stared at them for a moment, incredulous, then said with disgust. "You have got to be fucking kidding me. Feral? Really? I mean, okay, the kid's got problems. But after what he's been through I think he's allowed a few temper tantrums."

"He put two agents in the infirmary. One of them is in critical condition." Nick glowered.

"So of course he's feral." He shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. "Are you even listening to yourselves? The last time an alpha was classified as feral was over a hundred years ago!"

"I know it's upsetting, Howard." Peggy touched his arm; he pushed her away.

"You're damn right it's upsetting. He's not an animal. He's a thinking, reasoning human being. You wanna know why no one is classified as a feral anymore? Because there's no scientific basis for it! There is no uber-alpha, no alpha that is more wolf than man." He took a deep breath and tried not to think about Bucky and what had happened to Schmidt. "He's a screwed up kid!"

"You weren't here, Howard. You didn't see him. You didn't feel—" Peggy shivered and rubbed her arms as if she were cold. 

"I don't care," he said softly. "I'm not locking him up for the rest of his life or putting a bullet in his brain or whatever else you think I should do! He's my alpha and I want to see him. Now open the goddamn cell door."

"It's dangerous." Nick touched his gun as if he were reassuring himself. "If he attacks you—"

"He's not going to attack me." Of that he was sure. Nick glared at him, but Howard just glared right back not the least bit intimidated. A moment later, Nick sighed and spoke quietly into his communicator. The lock on the door clicked open and Howard said, "Thank you."

"We will put him down if he hurts you, Howard."

"I love you, too, Nicky." Howard gave Nick a lecherous smile and stepped into the room, closing the door firmly behind him. He could feel it as soon as he crossed the threshold, the tension that made his hair stand on end. The excitement was there, but the fear he felt with Bucky was missing. Howard scanned the dimly lit room; Steve was crouched in a corner, hidden in shadows. "I've heard you had a rough couple of weeks, sweetheart."

"Howard," Steve said, his voice rough and low. It sent shivers down Howard's spine and his knees shook. The boy slowly stepped into the light, and for a moment, his eyes glowed.

No, Howard was wrong, they weren’t glowing. They'd only caught the light. "That's right, Steve."

"They said Schmidt got you. They said—" Steve growled and the tension in the room rose.

Howard sank to his knees and lifted his chin. "Stop. Jesus, Steve, stop it!"

Steve gasped, breath hitching in his throat, and the tension broke. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I…" The boy took a few steps towards him, then stopped. "Are you all right?"

He wasn't sure. His whole body hurt and he was bathed in sweat. "M-Maybe."

Steve rushed to Howard's side, crashing to his knees. "You're hurt. You smell like blood and pain." 

"Not because of you," he said, leaning against Steve's sturdy frame. "Schmidt… He hurt me. But he's dead now."

"You killed him?" Steve wrapped his arms around Howard and nuzzled his face and neck.

"No. A friend of yours did that." Howard sighed in relief. "He said to tell you that he paid his debt to you. He said not to look for him." 

"Bucky," Steve breathed and let out a choked sob.

He let the boy cry for a bit, before the pain became too much. He tugged on Steve's hair. "Sweetheart. I really need to get off this floor." 

"Oh. Oh, right." Steve sniffled and helped Howard to his feet and into bed, where they curled up together. "Are they going to kill me?"

"No." He stroked Steve's hair; his hand trembled with exhaustion, but he didn't stop.

"I hurt people." Steve shuddered. "I… They said I was feral. That's what you're supposed to do to them, right? Shoot 'em."

"You are not feral," Howard said, mustering what little anger he could to make his point. "You are a very strong, very dedicated alpha. They're not going to shoot you. They're not going to lock you away. As soon as I can stand without collapsing, we are going home. Understood?"

"Home? W-With you?" The insecurity in Steve's voice made Howard ache. Even if he believed in ferals, that insecurity would stay his hand. Steve wasn't a monster, he wasn't a wild animal, he was just a scared little boy looking for a place to belong.

"I'm your omega. You belong with me, don't you?"

"Yeah." Steve smiled and bit his neck. "I'm sorry that I broke your bracelet."

"You were upset. I understand."

"I made you something." Steve pressed a kiss to his ear. "Wanna see it?" Before Howard could respond, Steve turned and pulled something out of the nightstand. It was made of braided leather, but this was too big to be a bracelet. "It's a necklace."

No, it was a collar, a very thin collar. "It's very pretty."

"You don't have to wear it. I know you won't wear it." Steve swallowed hard. "But I want you to have it anyway." 

Howard reached out and ran it along his palm. "What if I don't accept it?" 

Steve shrugged. "Then I make you another bracelet."

"What if I don't accept that either?"

"I'll buy you flowers." Steve sighed and held the collar at one end so that it swung lazily in the air. "I just want you to be happy."

"That won't make me happy." He gestured to the collar.

"I think it will." Steve glanced at him. "Why don't you wear it for awhile? If it still makes you uncomfortable after a few weeks, take it off."

"This isn't a fairy tale. The touch of a good alpha isn't going to magically make me submissive." Howard yawned and pressed a kiss to Steve's cheek.

"No, that's true. But maybe the touch of *your* alpha might make you realize that you can let go, you can trust someone else to take care of you."

Howard sighed; his eyelids drooped as he struggled to stay awake.. "Can we talk about this when we get home?" 

"I still really like you," Steve whispered. 

He smiled and closed his eyes. "I still really like you, too, sweetheart."


End file.
